At every exposition of the sacred relics of St Francis Xavier, the most poignant moment is perhaps that precise second when the relics emerge from the Basilica of Bom Jesus.
And when they do so, on November 21, 2024, after a gap of ten years, you can expect a few emotional scenes from the large congregation that is expected to be waiting outside.
As faith pervades through the congregation, amidst the thousands who have come to Old Goa, the exposition also seamlessly blends spirituality with history and culture.
WHO WAS ST FRANCIS XAVIER
St Francis Xavier, was a Basque missionary, co-founder, along with St Ignatius of Loyola, of the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits as they are more commonly called. He left Lisbon for Goa in 1541 and arrived in Goa on May 6, 1542, making Goa his first port of call in all of Asia.
Goa, at that time, was a bustling city. It was here that St Francis began his missionary work, which over the next 11 years that he spent in Asia would take him up to Japan, with numerous stops on the way.
St Francis died in 1552, on the Island of Sancian, off mainland China. His body was entombed but later exhumed and began a long journey to its final resting place in Goa.
“As willed by him and communicated to his confreres, his incorrupt body was exhumed from the grave at Sancian, re-buried at Malacca and dug up intact from there too, was brought down to Goa, where it is still venerated with great devotion and unction by all communities,” wrote Dr Olivinho Gomes in The Religious Order in Goa.
The body, when it arrived some two years later, was described to be fresh, and for a long period was known as the incorrupt body of St Francis Xavier. He was canonised in 1622, and in the Catholic Church, his work in Asia obtained for him the title of patron of foreign missions.
It is only in the 20th century that this nomenclature was changed to sacred relics of St Francis Xavier.
It is only in the 20th century that this nomenclature was changed to sacred relics of St Francis Xavier. The relics, in current times, lie at rest in a crystal urn that is enclosed in a silver casket, and remain atop a marble mausoleum in the Chapel of St Francis Xavier in the Basilica of Bom Jesus.
It is these relics that over the next 45 days will be on solemn exposition at the Cathedral in Old Goa.
THE SACRED RELICS
The body of St Francis has never been embalmed. On arrival, the body was described as still fresh, though missing some flesh behind the left knee.
A medical examination recorded in history books, conducted by physician Dr Cosme Saravia in March 1554, declared the body was incorrupt and attributed this to a supernatural phenomenon.
Relic hunters, however, sought parts of the body, and there are incidents of a toe being bitten off, of a chunk of flesh being cut off, of toes coming loose.
A medical examination of 1951 noted that the left ear was missing, though an earlier examination in 1932 had recorded its presence.
In 1614, the right arm of the saint was sawn off and sent to Rome. The hand and forearm lie at Gesu, the Jesuit mother church in Rome, while the upper arm was divided into two, with one portion going to the Jesuit college in Cochin and the other to the Malacca college.
The shoulder blade was sent to Macau. More relics were sought and all the internal organs of the chest and abdomen were removed and distributed. A medical examination of 1951 noted that the left ear was missing, though an earlier examination in 1932 had recorded its presence.
An extract of a medical examination report of 1782 reads: “He has the whole head with a great portion of hair. His facial features have deteriorated, but are covered up with skin, except the right side that has a bruise. He has both ears, and all teeth visible, except one, he has his left arm with hand eaten up, he does not have the right arm, tradition says it was sent to Rome. The body has everything save the intestines. There were legs with dry skin, the bare feet covered with skin, lines were made by the veins as well as the nails could be seen. Only one toe on the right foot was missing, and had been taken off by a devotee.”
An interesting observation of this study was that the uncovered parts had preserved better than the covered parts of the body.
This report compared with another of 1951 tells of further deterioration. The 1951 examination was conducted by Dr Wolfango da Silva and Dr Pacheco de Figueredo who found “a shrivelled skull, two legs, the left arm and hand, and heaps of bones, loose vertebrae, ribs or fragments of ribs and pieces of skin.”
An interesting observation of this study was that the uncovered parts had preserved better than the covered parts of the body. Dr Pacheco de Figueredo was able to conduct another examination in 1974, this time through the crystal urn.
He sums up his findings saying: "We can no longer speak of an incorruptible body – which is not necessary, for the sanctity of a person is not measured by the preservation of his body – but of the sacred relics of St Francis Xavier, for what we have today are mainly bones of the Saint to remind us of his glorious examples and virtues for which he strove so hard for the propagation of the faith of Christ and evangelisation, especially in India.”
In his lifetime, St Francis spent little time in Goa, a mere few months in this land, travelling instead across Southeast Asia.
ST FRANCIS AND GOA
In his lifetime, St Francis spent little time in Goa, a mere few months in this land, travelling instead across Southeast Asia. At that time Goa was an important Portuguese colony, a major port basking in wealth, and led by the missionary zeal of the Jesuits, many locals had converted to Catholicism.
There is little evidence to suggest that St Francis loved Goa or the Goans.
Fr Lucio da Veiga Coutinho, a former editor of the church bulletin Renovacao, in the article “A Puzzling Epithet” writes, “It is not known what he thought of and how he looked at Goan Christians, already evangelized before his arrival (Goa at his time had 14000 Christians). However much meticulously one searches through his letters and writings, one hardly finds any expression of special love towards the local population… Anyway, Goans did never particularly touch the chords of his otherwise extremely affectionate and sensitive heart.”
Preparations began two years ago in October 2022, when Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao announced the exposition dates.
SPIRITUAL RENEWAL
For the past months, across Goa, in Catholic homes, chapels and churches, a special prayer has been added to the daily recitation of prayers, where the faithful have been beseeching that the decennial exposition may bring about a renewal of Christian life and help in spreading peace and harmony.
Preparations began two years ago in October 2022, when Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao announced the exposition dates. The archdiocese is expecting 6.5 million pilgrims and visitors, a majority, of course, are pilgrims, as this, the archdiocese is clear, is a spiritual event.
The Cardinal’s announcement of the exposition urged the “faithful and all people of good will to pray that the twin celebrations (Exposition and Jubilee Year 2025) may bring about a renewal of Christian life and help in spreading peace and harmony among all”.
Quite early during the preparations, Fr Henry Falcao had stressed upon this, stating, “I wish to remind everyone that the exposition is a spiritual event, one that should help all of us to renew our Christian faith and life.”
A group of Pakistani Goans too are scheduled to come to Goa during this period.
The exposition is expected to bring to Old Goa pilgrims not just from Goa and the rest of India, but from countries where St Xavier worked, like Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan, and also Goans who are settled across the world in Europe and the United States.
A group of Pakistani Goans too are scheduled to come to Goa during this period.
LASTING LEGACY
In 2024, well over 450 years after his death and four centuries after he was canonised, St Francis remains as a symbol of faith in Goa, particularly among Catholics, drawing lakhs to his mausoleum all year round, and especially now at the exposition.
He goes by the sobriquet of Goycho Saib, a title whose origin is not quite identified in history.
Veiga Coutinho writes, “If during his lifetime St Francis never had much to do with Goans, how come then that the popular consensus promoted him as Goycho Saib…?"
He further writes, “It is not the living Xavier but rather his dead body that seems to have built up the unbreakable relationship between him and us.”
That perhaps is the closest explanation that one can get to the title of Goycho Saib, though there are many reasons given for it.
But then, whether Goycho Saib or not, St Francis is still loved by Goans. It is said that during his time in Goa, St Francis rang a bell as he walked through the streets, calling children to catechism. They came to be raised in the faith.
Now St Francis Xavier does not ring a bell, but thousands today do hear the call and do run to his side, to whisper a petition, to seek a favour, to give thanks, to seek spiritual renewal. And they return in the firm belief that Goycho Saib has heard them and will respond to their prayer.