UCAN

Old Goa, Dec 13: As 2006 ends, many Catholics in Goa say the 500th anniversary of Saint Francis Xavier's birth has gone largely unnoticed in the western Indian state, where the saint's mortal remains are preserved.
 
"I didn't know this was the jubilee year. Had I been aware, I would have produced souvenirs for pilgrims on the occasion," lamented Anthony Fernandes, a businessman in this former Portuguese enclave the saint used as his base after arriving in India in 1542. The saint also preached in what are now Indonesia, Japan and Malaysia.

After his death in 1542 off the southeastern coast of China, as he was waiting to enter the mainland, his body eventually was brought to Goa. Though it remained intact for centuries, the Jesuits now refer to the relic, kept in a crystal case in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa, as his remains.

There the only indications that this year marked a significant anniversary were the occasional groups of overseas pilgrims that visited the basilica, which otherwise had no special programs marking the 500th birth anniversary.

Old Goa, the main Portuguese center in India when the saint arrived, is 1,910 kilometers southwest of New Delhi. What is now Goa state was a Portuguese colony until India took the territory back in 1961.

"There ought to have been grand preparations, as the state and the Church do during the exposition (of the relic)," Fernandes said. Expositions of the remains, held every 10 years, attract pilgrims from India and abroad.

Father Tony D'Silva, provincial superior of the Jesuits in Goa, told UCA News on Dec. 2 that also requested an exposition this year, but the "authorities did not want to change" the 10-year cycle.

An exposition requires help from the state for crowd control, and since one such event concluded a year ago, the government might have decided against having another one now, Father D'Silva said. Another reason for not holding an exposition, he added, is that with a state election a few months away, the local Church wants to educate the laity on good governance and candidates.

Archdiocesan spokesperson Father Joaquim Loiola Pereira also cited the modern tradition of the expositions as decennial events as a consideration in the Church's decision against holding another one this year. The last exposition, the 16th, ended on Jan. 2, 2005. Moreover, he said, the Church has been accused of using the expositions for financial gain.

Father Pereira said the focus of the archdiocese this year has been on Christian Witness in Society: Challenge of the Eucharist. But "every effort was made to link sermons to Saint Xavier," he added.

Still, those who say the archdiocese ignored the centenary maintain that at the least, programs at the basilica could have focused on the saint and left the archdiocesan theme for parishes.

Some who joined the novena in preparation for the observance of the saint's feast day on Dec. 4 said the preachers during the novena did not say anything about the famed missioner but focused instead on social issues.

The saint's feast day is Dec. 3, but the Church celebrated it a day later this year since Dec. 3 was the first Sunday of Advent. The Catholic Church observes only feast days of obligation that fall on Sundays. Other feasts are postponed or advanced at the discretion of the local Church community.

Homilies during the novena days were dedicated to specific themes such as society, governance, respect for life, education, labor, environment, interrelations dialogue and other socially relevant themes.

Aninha Rocha, 82, who attended the novena, lamented that nothing was said about the saint during the sermons. "I am a staunch Saint Xavier devotee and had gone to Old Goa. But I returned home without a word being heard about our favorite saint," she told UCA News. On the other hand, Rocha said she has no complaints because the priest stressed the need to fight corruption. The preaching was "so powerful that it neutralized what I missed," she remarked.

When Father D'Silva was asked if he was upset with the handling of the jubilee, he answered: "I will not say I am upset, but things could have been conducted in a better way."

The Jesuits marked the year with an international seminar on the impact of Saint Francis Xavier and his legacy in Goa and elsewhere. They also held exhibitions, and essay and other contests at schools.

"Within the Jesuit order, the jubilee was used for a tremendous reflection process on what we should do for Goa," the provincial said. As a result they plan to focus educational institutes more on serving poor children and also to start a center to help pastoral work, he revealed.

Bento Rodrigues, a tour guide who led at least 200 Europeans to Old Goa, said the Church should have done more on the occasion.

Basilica rector Jesuit Father Savio Barreto noted that they received "regular groups of foreign pilgrims throughout the year."

On the feast day, they had to reserve 400 seats for pilgrims from Portugal and Spain, he reported, adding that a 92-member Portuguese team also visited the basilica on Dec 4.