Thanks to Isabel de Santa Rita Vaz and Cecil Pinto, and at a different level to Dom Martin, the story of one of the greatest Goans, Abbe Faria, is now being remembered and written about.
However, while almost all stories carried in the local media refer to Caetano Vitorino Faria's famous line, none state (for the benefit of the uninitiated reader) how the young Abbe Faria came to be got tongue-tied on going up the steps of the pulpit of Queen Maria-I's chapel at the Queluz palace. The young priest had, after all, delivered a homily to an audience as distinguished as Pope Pius VI and the princes of the Church, at the Vatican's Sistine Chapel. The young Abbe had prepared himself well (and probably rehearsed his delivery several times over) for the sermon at the Queluz chapel. But when we went up the pulpit, he was suddenly overwhelmed at the sight of the royal entourage ... and failed to find the words he had so well prepared. The father, who was standing by the pulpit below, quickly sized the situation and, in an audible but incomprehensible tongue to the distinguished audience, uttered those famous words, *Hi sogli bhaaji, Kator re bhaaji!* And out flew the words of yet another memorable sermon like the waters of the Mandovi during monsoons...
