Goa holds feast in honour of Saint Francis Xavier

Hundreds of devotees attended a mass in Goa to celebrate the feast of Saint Francis Xavier on his death anniversary.

Mass prayers began as early as four in the morning on Wednesday. The feast is normally celebrated for nine days.

All Goans, irrespective of their caste and religious faiths, came to the Basilica of Bom Jesus located in Old Goa to participate in the feast.

The prayers were conducted by the Archbishop of Bombay, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, and the Archbishop of Goa, Filipe Neri Ferrao.

"May the faith which Francis Xavier gave us help us to strengthen our homes, help us to strengthen our communities, our parishes, our Archdiocese. May the faith which Francis Xavier gave us be the light, the strength, the courage, the generosity that enables us to live our Christian life always, fully, committedly, dedicatedly," said Cardinal Gracias during the prayers.

The Saint Francis Feast is celebrated every year on December 3 to mark the death anniversary of the saint. He was affectionately called Goincho Saib or the Lord of Goa.

There were many devotes who had come from Portugal. Miguel Amado who had come to Goa for the first time said he felt blessed after the prayers.

"We feel something very strong in our heart, in our soul so that is why we are very happy. I think we go to Portugal with this feeling that people from India is our brother people," said Amado.

Saint Xavier was born in Spain in 1506 and devoted his life to religion and the service of the poor and the downtrodden. He first arrived in Goa, then a Portuguese colony, in 1542.

Saint Xavier travelled throughout Asia, founding Christian communities in southern Japan and parts of what are now Indonesia and Malaysia.

His efforts earned him the appellation "Apostle to the Indies", and he was canonised in 1622.