12,000 gather as Goa starts exposition of St. Francis Xavier relics

Thousands attend the opening ceremony in honor of the 16th-century Spanish missionary

Nov 21, 2024

By Michael Gonsalves
At least 12,000 people thronged India’s western state of Goa on Nov. 21 to participate in the ceremonies marking the start of the once-in-ten-year exposition of St. Francis Xavier's relics.

The 18th exposition started with a Mass at the Basilica of Bom Jesus, a 16th-century UNESCO-approved world heritage monument that houses the saint's body.

“We come here as pilgrims to his feet, begging for Goa’s mercy through his intercession,” Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi, who led the Mass, said in his sermon.

Four centuries have passed since “his incorrupt body” arrived in Goa from the island of Sancian [now Shangchuan] via Malucca,” the prelate said.

Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão of Goa and Daman said the theme of this year’s exposition is “We are messengers of the Good News of Jesus Christ.”

“We are called to spread it as St. Francis did in his life,” the prelate said.

Goa archdiocese has commissioned a book, Stories in Silver, with photos by Pantaleao Fernandes, which will be sold during the exposition.

Fernandes said whenever he visited the basilica, he was curious to know the details of the 32-panel plates that adorn the casket.

Fernandes told UCA News that the book narrates the stories and miracles contained in the panels and also tells the story of St.Francis Xavier’s journey from Europe.

After the Mass, the relics were taken out in an electric carriage, deviating from the practice of Catholics carrying them on their shoulders.

Over 2,000 men and women formed a human chain to view the relics from the basilica's entrance to the nearby cathedral, and many joined the procession.

According to authorities, all the 10,000 chairs set for the visitors were occupied, and many were standing to witness the opening ceremony on Nov. 21.

The relics were brought down and kept inside the nearby 16th-century Se cathedral, open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“We expect 8 million people to visit this year,” Father Henry Falcao, diocesan convener of the exposition committee, told UCA News.

In 2014, 5.5 million people visited, he said.

Salvador Fernandes, a businessman who sells weighing machines, was asked to weigh the silver casket to find its accurate weight last year to refurbish it. He said he has been visiting Old Goa every year.

“I was fortunate to touch his toes when his body was kept in the open with Mass vestments without the glass cover,” the 75-year-old man from Divar island, near Old Goa, said.

The exposition will last for 45 days till Jan.5.

St. Francis Xavier was buried on an island near Japan in 1552, and his body was found incorrupt when exhumed a year later to be taken to Europe.

The exposition began in 1782, 230 years after the Spaniard Jesuit saint died.--ucanews.com