The Exposition Of St Francis Xavier Leads To Tourism Boom

During the exposition, the scared remains of St Francis Xavier will be brought down from atop the mausoleum in the Basilica of Bom Jesus and taken to the Cathedral of BI Joseph Vaz where they shall remain for veneration until early January. Though it is over four and half centuries since the death of the Saint, Goans of all creeds bow at the feet of the Goencho Saib (Lord of Goa) and the exposition presents an opportunity for lakh of people to make this gesture of reverence to the Sanit.

St Francis Xavier is today perhaps, the most prayed to intercessor by Goans. His body was hauled to Goa over a period of 14 months from China and what remains today rests in a crystal urn, enclosed within a silver casket and a top a marble mausoleum in a chapel dedicated to him within the Basilica of Bom Jesus.

For the people of Goa, this exposition is an event to look forward to. It is a great boost to religiosity and the economy too. The exposition of the sacred relics presents the church with a measure to renew the faith of its flock. The theme this year is 'As fellow pilgrims, nourished by the Eucharist sent to build Communion'. For the state, it is a tremendous opportunity to bolster its tourism business and give the economy a booster shot. The government is keen to exploit the numbers that will be down in Goa for the exposition, which has coincided with the IFFI during the same period. For the lay people, it is another rite to perform and feast to celebrate and to many others an opportunity to take a peek at the skull and feet of the Saint. Unlike the bodies of some other saints of the Catholic Church, that have been embalmed and are on permanent exposition, the body of this Saint has never been chemically treated. Except for the use of lime on the body to expedite its disintegration, the body remains free of any embalming agent since St Francis Xavier died off the Chinese coast, on the island of Sancian, on the night of December two to three, of the year 1552. The body reached Goa in February 1554 after a halt at Malacca and stopovers at Cochin and Bhatkal.

For the past half century the Church has officially amended the terminology describing the relics from 'incorrupt body of St Francis Xavier' to 'scared relics of St Francis Xavier'.

On his feast day, close to 30,000 devotees make their way to Old Goa, and thousands others go there during the novenas. This year, during the entire period, the number of people expected to journey to Old Goa is many times more. Many make it a point to complete the entire novena and feast of the Saint. While most drive down every day, others actually spend the entire ten nights in the corridors of the Basilica of Bom Jesus, some fulfilling a vow made for favours granted. When on November 21, the sacred remains of St. Francis Xavier will be taken in procession from the Basilica of Bom Jesus to the Cathedral of Bi. Joseph Vaz, a distance of perhaps 500 meters, thousands of people, ten deep are expected to line the route and thousands others to follow the relics in procession. The heat and dust notwithstanding mean in dark suits and ladies in silks will participate in the mass and patiently endure the wait in serpentine queues to pay their respects to the relics of the Saint. It is expected that over three million pilgrims will journey to Old Goa during the period when the relics will be on exposition. That is the kind of faith that people have in St Francis Xavier.

(Courtesy: Goa Today)
This story has been edited due to space constraints