Plans afoot to dedicate Sancoale Church to Goa’s own St Joseph Vaz

Panaji: With only a facade of the Church of Our Lady of Health surviving the mysteriousfire of 1834 and the ravages of time, the ruins in Sancoale draw many curious visitors and devotees.

However, the spot, with a charming view of River Zuari, is likely to register more footfalls in the near future as the Goa Archdiocese plans to dedicate the historic site to the state’s first saint, Joseph Vaz. It was here, 340 years ago, that St Vaz had signed a ‘Deed of Bondage’ to Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

“He surrendered his life to Mother Mary, so he could dedicate himself to the service of Jesus under her protection,” Fr Eremito Rebello, former vice-postulator for the cause of Joseph Vaz, said.

The archdiocese’s plans will be set in motion on the feast day of the Goan saint, scheduled to be celebrated at Church of Our Lady of Health on January 16. But, a controversy is brewing over the shifting of the feast from the Sanctuary of St Joseph Vaz on Cortalim-Sancoale road, to the old church. A section of parishioners will meet on Sunday to discuss the issue, sources said.

As a youth, St Vaz was part of the 17th century church, and probably received his first Holy Communion and even celebrated his first Mass there after his ordination in 1676, Church sources said. As such, the Church plans to restore the existing edifice into a basilica dedicated to Goa’s first saint. “It is in the fitness of things to honour St Vaz. That is why the feast will be celebrated at the spot,” a Church source said.

The sanctuary at Sancoale was built to promote the cause of his sainthood. “Fr Isidore D’Cunha from Cuelim, Cansaulim, then a professor of Collegio de Rachol, advised the then bishop of Goa to promote devotion to Joseph Vaz. For this, a shrine was needed,” Rebello said.

D’Cunha was instrumental in buying the land for the shrine. “The cause has been realised and the shrine’s purpose fulfilled,” Rebello said.