The Feast of Saint Francis Xavier
Updated on Oct 28, 2019 by Kathryn Burrington
Each year, on 3rd December, marks the anniversary of St Francis Xavier’s
death, when thousands gather at the Basilica of Bom Jesus.
This annual festival, known as the Feast of St Francis Xavier or
Goinchea Saibache Fest, (Lord of Goa Festival), is the biggest of all
the Christian festivals in Goa. People from near and far come to
participate in the morning mass.
Saint Francis Xavier
St
Francis Xavier came to Goa as a missionary in 1542, and began preaching
to both the Goans and his fellow Europeans. During the next ten years
he converted many thousands to Christianity, despite the resistance of
some of the European officials he encountered, as well as language
constraints (he wasn’t proficient in foreign languages as is commonly
believed).
He died of a fever on a Chinese island in 1552, at just 46 years old, and was brought back to Goa a few years later.
In
1637 his body was laid to rest in a silver casket, constructed by Goan
silversmiths, who blended beautifully both Italian and Indian aesthetics
in its design. 32 silver plates placed on the sides of the casket each
depict a different episode in the life of the Saint. The casket was
placed in the Basilica of Bom Jesus where it remains to this day. Once
every ten years there is a public viewing of his body, the next being
due in 2024.
Considered one of the greatest missionaries since St
Paul, the anniversary of his death is also remembered in Spain, the
land of his birth, as The Day of Navarre (Día de Navarra).
Visiting Old Goa and the Basilica of Bom Jesus
Once
known as the ‘Rome of the East’, Old Goa is fascinating to explore with
many reminders of the region’s former grandeur and the importance it
held in the colonial era. There are a number of colonial buildings,
convents, and churches, including the Basilica of Bom Jesus, that are
listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites and are protected by the
Archaeological Survey of India.
The
basilica itself is one of the oldest churches in Goa. Completed in
1605, it is regarded as the finest example of baroque architecture in
the whole of India and is today one of Goa’s most popular attractions.
The
interior is relatively simple with a few exceptions - the floor is made
of marble inlaid with precious stones and there is an elaborately
gilded alter.
A mausoleum, holding the remains of the Saint, was
designed by the 17th-century Florentine sculptor Giovanni Battista
Foggini and took ten years to complete.
https://www.goaexperience.co.uk/blog/the-feast-of-saint-francis-xavier
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