Goa – it is that distant land that more and more people seek to come to for a holiday. It is a land where life moves at its own pace. Where there are no lanes on the highways and no traffic signals at crossings [except for non-functional signals]. A land of smiling people who also have problems [with water, electricity and transport]. A land where you can stroll aimlessly letting the easy-does-it atmosphere envelop you, taking you into a world of your own, only to realise [a little late though] that you have missed your last bus back to your hotel.
“Goenkar” is what most Goans prefer calling themselves. Meaning “a true Goan” in the local language, these people are a very warm-hearted, friendly and hospitable lot. “Susegad” [a unique term used to describe their easy-going attitude], by nature are hard-working and dedicated.
Goans have one of the highest per capita income and literacy rate in the country. The languages they speak are Konkani, English, Marathi and Hindi. A number of people also speak Portuguese. Goans are abundantly gifted as far as their talents for music, dance, drama and sports are concerned and the love for their passions knows no bounds. They are very modest, outgoing and sporting. Goans like to socialise and celebrate.
Goa is snuggly ensconced between the Sahyadri range on the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. And along its 102 km palm fringed coastline, you will find some of the world’s loveliest beaches. With an area of 3702 sq.kms, it is the smallest state in the country.
Once you are in Goa, you will notice something beautiful and different about the place as compared to the rest of the country. As you walk down the by-lanes of the town, you will see old, yet well-maintained traditional houses with a “balcao” and a “sopo”, [a seat built on to the pillars of the verandas], where old folks would sit, gossip and watch the world go by. Goa is colourful. Most houses are white and red tiled. And as you drive along the countryside, you will see verdant green paddy fields. At the beach, you will find the sands silvery white, and the water and skies, a clear blue. The evening adds gold to the skies as the sun sets into the sea.
Goa is also privileged to have been the starting point of all the missionary labours. One of the missionaries being Saint Francis Xavier, the great Apostle of the East, Patron of the Missions and the place where his sacred remains are preserved. The expansion of the Catholic Church in the East can be said to have begun after the European “discovery” of the sea route to India in 1498. Goa was called the “Rome of the East” due to the central role it played in the evangelization of the East. The early Goan society underwent radical change when Indo-Aryan and Dravidian migrants amalgamated with the locals, forming the base of early Goan culture.
Old Goa, the capital of Goa was conquered by Afonso de Albuquerque for the Portuguese in 1510. Since then until 1734, it became the principal seat of the Portuguese Empire in the East. It was also the radiating centre of the Christian Missionary Movement. The decline of the Portuguese power, plague and epidemic fever forced the Portuguese administration to abandon their fabulous capital at Old Goa, and transfer the seat of the Government to Panjim, 12 kms. away.
There are many religious and architectural monuments in Old Goa around which tradition has woven a number of stories. However, after Saint Francis Xavier, whose remains are enshrined at Bom Jesu Basilica, the Cross of Miracles of Old Goa stands as a historic monument to the apparition of Christ Himself in this Rome of the East, of which, very little is known even by Catholics inside and outside of Goa.
THREE APPARITIONS
It is said to have happened three times.
The first time it was when the image of the Crucified Christ is said to have spoken to the first Archbishop of Goa, Don Gaspar de Leao Pereira [1560-1567] in the Monastery of the Mother of God at Dauguim in Old Goa.
The second time it was, when, on February 23, 1619, Christ appeared facing the city of Old Goa on the Cross erected on the “BOA VISTA’ hill and then suddenly turned His back to the city and disappeared.
The third time it was on February 8, 1636 the First Friday of Lent. As Christ had cried over Jerusalem on the eve of His Passion, predicting its destruction, the image of the Crucified Christ eyes were opened, shed tears and blood at the Saint Monica’s Convent in Old Goa. This happened several times and for several days up to September 22, 1636, even in the presence of the Bishop of Cochin then in charge of the Goa Archdiocese, Friar Minguel Rangel and the Portuguese Viceroy, Pedro da Silva and other Government officials. Tradition says that thenceforth, the destruction of the city started. The Golden City of Goa slowly began to wane. The extinction of the Jesuits by the Decrees of Marques de Pombal dated September 3, 1759 and of the other religious orders by the Royal Decrees of May 28, 1834, gave a final blow to the crumbling city. It was in ruins with only the few Churches and Monasteries standing.
THE CROSS OF MIRACLES
[Growing Cross] The BOA VISTA HILL
The Cross of Miracles as it is seen today is kept in the Sé Cathedral Church at Old Goa in the Chapel of the Crucified Saviour, opposite the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. It is enclosed inside thin timber planks with an opening at the base to allow devotees to venerate it.
There are many monuments in Old Goa and on them many stories and tales. One such historical monument is the Cross of Miracles [Growing Cross] from a four meter Cross it has turned into a huge Cross.
The Old City of Goa was situated in the middle of small hills. To the South of the city there is a hill which in Portuguese is known as “Monte de Boa Vista” [Mount of Beautiful Scenery] because from there nature’s beautiful scenery unfolded itself into the famous city known as the “Pearl of the Orient”. This is the reason why a wise and good natured Priest, Fr. Manuel Rodrigues, had installed a 3 ½ yards [around four metres] high Cross into a 2 feet high rock, existing at the peak of the hill. This Cross, tradition says, was first made by some shepherds out of a piece of the coconut palm trunk. The Cross could be seen not only from the city but also from the island of Divar that lies on the other side of the river.
THE APPARITION – Strange Signs around the Cross
This Cross could be seen at the top of the hill for a few years and had by now become a common sight every day to the passers-by. But from February 22, 1619 strange signs began to happen around the Cross. They found the Cross was big. This was a Friday. All of a sudden some passers -by, saw red flags flying at the mercy of the winds on that hill. People thought that those flags might be the sails of ships kept to dry. At the dawn of the next day, February 23, 1619, some people from the island of Divar were returning home after the night Adoration service of the Blessed Sacrament in their village Church of Saint Mathias, saw a strange light around the Cross. Some days before this, a huge comet had appeared in the skies in Goa. These people thought that the strange light they were witnessing around the Cross might also be of that comet. However, these lights were beautiful and radiant.
VISION OF THE CRUCIFIED
The same morning, at 9 o’clock, a military surgeon, Pedro da Silva was climbing the hill nearest to the “Boa Vista” hill with his servant, Anthony. They noticed that the Cross on “Boa Vista” hill had become big and a man was seen on this Cross. At that moment, Simon Borges was passing that side. Pedro called him and asked him if he noticed anything strange on the Cross. Simon Borges confirmed that he had seen exactly what Pedro da Silva had seen. [Simon Borges was from the Piedade parish of the island of Divar. He died later on August 9, 1628]. Pedro and Anthony climbed the “Boa Vista” hill to witness the vision from a closer angle. But to their surprise when they reached the top of the hill, they could not see the man on the Cross. The Cross was fixed and erect as before, but had become big. Pedro embraced the Cross, kissed it and prayed. Instantly, his hands began to give out a strange but sweet fragrance. Pedro narrated the incident, all that he and the other travellers had witnessed, to his family members and friends.
He opened his hands and let them inhale the sweet odour that was emanating from his hands. The news spread like wild fire and many gathered at the foot of the Cross. They saw nothing of the strange things that they had heard but the Cross was big.
The people were beginning to return home. At that moment, Pedro da Silva came there with his friends and now everybody saw the vision as he was narrating. Young and old, Christians and members of other faiths, began to visit the “Boa Vista” hill from that day onwards. Everyone, who climbed the hill wanted to take a piece as a relic from the Cross. Rev. Dr. Cristóvᾶo de Sά e Lisboa, Archbishop of Goa summoned Pedro da Silva and obtained from him a first-hand report of the vision. He was afraid that, the manner in which the people were scrambling for pieces of the Cross, to keep a relic for themselves, might reduce the whole Cross to pieces. He saw for himself the scramble going on to get a piece of the Cross. He ordered the Cross to be shifted to the Parish Church which was “Our Lady of Light”. The Cross was high and heavy. It took three hours [6 p.m.- 9 p.m.] to complete the operation. There was a torch light procession and they took the Cross to the Church of Our Lady of Light. The Cross was placed inside thin timber planks with golden nails. Open space was kept near the foot of the Cross for veneration. Many miraculous cures and events took place according to a written tradition by the ancestors.
People prayed for some sign to prove that the image seen on the miraculous Cross was of Christ. On 15th March, 1619 at 3 o’clock whilst people were digging to collect relic pieces of the rock where the Cross stood, the soil became wet and as they struck the rock, a water fountain sprouted out with clean water. The news spread all over and people came to this place and collected this spring water, which had healing powers.
A new Church was built on the same place where the Cross stood, and this Cross of Miracles was placed inside this Church. By 1659, the Church began to crumble. On May 3, 1843, the Cross of Miracles was removed from the crumbling Church on the “Boa Vista” hill and brought in a solemn procession to the Sé Cathedral Church and kept in the Chapel of the Saviour’s Holy Sepulchre, opposite the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament.
Since the year of the Exposition of the remains of Saint Francis Xavier in 1931, the Feast of the Cross of Miracles began to be celebrated in the Cathedral Church on November 30, because it was at this time of the year that many people flocked to the place in comparison to other seasons of the year. Likewise, on November 27, in Saint Monica’s Monastery Church, the Feast of the Cross on which the image of Christ cried from February 8 to September 22, 1636 is celebrated. This feast is an optional memorial on the Calendar of the Archdiocese of Goa.
Tomorrow: The Church of Santa Monica/Chapel of the Weeping Cross