ASIA/INDIA – An extraordinary exhibition of the remains of Saint Francis Xavier: a message of faith, simplicity and hope
Goa (Agenzia Fides) – In the collective memory of Indian devotees are still engraved the figure of the saint who passed through the villages with a small bell and, attracting the attention of both children and adults, preaching the simplest prayer, the Our Father, Ave Maria, Confiteor or elementary -the foundations of faith such as the sign of the cross and the ten commandments. Francis Xavier (1506-1552), whose feast day is celebrated today, December 3, was given bombastic definitions such as “giant of the evangelization”, “the greatest missionary of modern times”, as well as the official titles bestowed upon him by the Church. : patron of the East, the work of spreading the faith and, with St. Thérèse of Lisieux, mission.
The Church in India, with its extraordinary exhibition of his remains – which is currently taking place in Goa and will last until January 5, 2023 – intends to remind everyone precisely of this aspect of simplicity and the essence of faith, for “God reveals Himself to the small and humble”. Francis Xavier was sent to evangelize in the East, but he also had an official mission as “papal legate” for the Portuguese colonies in the East Indies. His ministry as “apostolic nuncio”, he lived out in the etymological sense of the term, as a true disciple and missionary: by giving the Good News to the suffering, to the slaves, to the sick, he also cared for the “paravi”, the abused pearl fishermen by Muslims, have become Christians, but without receiving adequate education, because their language is not known. With great difficulty, he translated prayers and the most important truths of faith, traveled around villages and baptized, taught prayers, founded churches and schools. With emotion, he meets people who already know Jesus Christ (these are the so-called “Saint Thomas Christians”, the apostles of Jesus who came to India): God who has “predecessed to Galilee”.
It is this saint who is revered and loved today by Indian pilgrims who flock to the Bom Jesus Basilica in Goa, where his remains are kept. Cardinal Felipe Neri Ferrao, Archbishop of Goa and Daman, solemnly announced the exposition of the body of one of the founders of the Society of Jesus, the holy apostle of the East who, born in 1506 in Javier, Spain, evangelized India, the Malacca Peninsula, Indonesia and Japan and died on the 3rd December 1552 on the Chinese island of Sancian, at the age of 46.
Francis Xavier’s body was first laid out for public veneration at St. Paul, Goa from 16-18 March 1554, soon after he arrived in the city from western India. It was later moved into the current basilica, built in 1594, and placed in a silver and glass tomb in 1637. Since then, the silver casket is opened every ten years for the long-awaited six-week public exhibition event. The last one happened in 2014.
With today’s exhibition, the Church of India, after the pandemic, wants to draw attention to ancient popular devotional practices such as pilgrimage, prayer and veneration of saints. For more than a month, Xavier’s body was placed on a dais for pilgrims to approach, begging for mercy, asking for special protection. “The meaning of the event is to bring every soul back to a personal encounter with Christ, to reflect on Francis Xavier’s journey of faith and to emulate his zeal for evangelization,” wrote Cardinal Ferrao, recalling some four million people visiting the relics during the last ostension. In addition, this year’s fair, which is scheduled two years earlier than the usual calendar, also serves to prepare for the exhibition that has been scheduled for 2024, which will give the faithful time to undertake a “deep inner spiritual journey. : pilgrimage is the culmination of a a spiritual journey, a journey of renewal and hope that every person, every family, every parish is called to do,” said Father Barry Cardoza, Director of the Diocesan Communication Center of Goa. This pilgrimage, he said, was not just an individual act, but fully synodal, as far as one wishes. “walking with the poor and marginalized, with people of all religions and cultures, and in harmony with creation”.
This pilgrimage to visit the body of the saint is also an interfaith event: as in previous years, Catholic, Hindu and Muslim pilgrims traveled together for eight days from Maharashtra and Karnataka to reach Goa and have a “spiritual encounter with the saint”. It is an experience that, they say, deeply involves men and women who have been healed of physical and spiritual ailments through the intercession of Spanish Jesuits, or who have placed special prayers or requests in their hands.
Today in Old Goa, amidst the general mobilization, even from civil authorities, people from different cultures, traditions, castes or religions, know, respect and love the figure they call “Goencho Saib”, i.e. “protector of Goa”. It was to him, who spent all his energies carrying the message of love from the Risen One, that the baptized Indian people were inspired to testify about the salvation given by Christ Jesus, which fills and transforms everyone’s life.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides, 12/3/2022)
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