Photo Documentary: Chapora River

For many, North Goa usually draws up pictures of Calangute and Baga with their crowded beaches, streets and their night-life. It was an unexpected adventure that drew me far north to the Chapora River. The vistas were simply breathtaking and I couldn't have hoped to find such a pristine or serene part of Goa still existing.

The next time you are in Goa, I recommend taking a drive up north and simply enjoying the charming little fishing villages, lush hills and creeks, with water so clear that you can see the fish beneath the surface.

Boat on the river

Basilica of Bom Jesus, Old Goa

Konkani Name: Borea Jezuchi Bajilika 

Portuguese: Basílica do Bom Jesus

Translation: Basilica of Good/Holy Jesus

The Basilica of Bom Jesus is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The basilica holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier and is located in Old Goa, which was the capital of Goa in the early days of the Portuguese rule.

Exterior view of the Basilica

Construction work on the church began in 1594 and the church was consecrated in May 1605 by Dom Fr. Aleixo de Menezes, the then archbishop. The Jesuit church is India’s first minor basilica, built over 50 years before the Taj Mahal and has emerged as a landmark in the history of Christianity.

In 1698 a magnificent Florentine Mausoleum was commissioned by the last of the Medicis, Cosimo III, the Grand Duke of Tuscany. It was designed by the 17th-century Florentine sculptor Giovanni Battista Foggini and took ten years to complete. The silver casket containing the coffin was placed on top of it. The tomb of St. Francis Xavier has three parts, namely, the altar, the Florentine mausoleum and the silver casket.

The Church itself is considered to be one of the best examples of baroque architecture in India. Apart from the elaborate gilded altars and intricate marble flooring, the interior of the church is simple. The church also displays paintings of scenes from the life of St. Francis Xavier.

Candles offered in prayer at the Shrine

The Basilica of Bom Jesus is more than 408 years old and is open to the public. The remains of St. Francis Xavier attract a huge number of devotees (Christian and non-Christian alike) from all over the world, especially during the public viewing of his body every ten years (next Exposition from 22^nd Nov 2014 – 4^th Jan 2015). Devotees burn wax figurines and candles at the Shrine in faithful anticipation of miraculous healing, which the Saint is known for.

Devotees offer wax replicas of miracles that they are seeking intersession for. 

The Exposition of the Holy Relics of St Francis Xavier 2014

22^nd November 2014 to 4^th January 2015

This year Goa will be host to the exposition of the Holy Relics of St. Francis Xavier, an event that happens once every decade. Known as the Patron Saint of Goa he is loved and revered by one and all. People from all over the world throng to Goa to venerate and pay homage to the Saint, who is regarded as the ‘Apostle of the Indies’.

The Life of the Saint

Francis Xavier, SJ, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta (7 April 1506 – 3 December 1552), was a Roman Catholic missionary born in Xavier, Kingdom of Navarre (now part of Spain), and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He with St. Ignatius of Loyola and seven others took vows of poverty and chastity at Montmartre, (Paris) in 1534, thus leading to the formation of the Society of Jesus, later known as the Jesuits. 

St Francis Xavier left Lisbon on 7 April 1541, Xavier's thirty-fifth birthday, along with two other Jesuits on board the Santiago. As he departed, Francis was given a brief from the pope appointing him apostolic nuncio to the East. He arrived in Goa, then capital of Portuguese India on 6 May 1542, thirteen months after leaving Lisbon.

During his time in Asia, St Francis Xavier worked as a missionary in Goa to restore Christianity among the Portuguese settlers. He set himself to learn the local languages. He devoted almost three years to the work of preaching to the people of southern India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). In addition, his missionary work extended through the Indonesian archipelago, Malacca, the island of Borneo and Japan. His overriding desire was to go to mainland China and bring Christianity to the vast country. To this end he made several attempts and permission was denied by the Chinese Emperor.   

Death and Burial

He died at Shangchuan island from a fever on 3 December 1552, while he was waiting for a boat that would agree to take him to mainland China.

 He was first buried on a beach at Shangchuan Island. His incorrupt body was taken from the island in February 1553 and was temporarily buried in St. Paul's church in Portuguese Malacca. On 11 December 1553, Xavier's body was shipped to Goa.

The Holy Relics

Silver Casket holding the body of St. Francis Xavier

The body is now in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa, where it was placed in a glass container encased in a silver casket on 2 December 1637.The right forearm, which Xavier used to bless and baptize, was detached by Superior General Claudio Acquaviva in 1614 and has been displayed since in a silver reliquary at the main Jesuit church in Rome, Il Gesù. Another of Xavier's arm bones was later brought to Macau where it was kept in a silver reliquary. The relic was destined for Japan but religious persecution there persuaded the church to keep it in Macau's Cathedral of St. Paul. It was subsequently moved several times and is currently a relic at St. Joseph's Seminary and the Sacred Art Museum.

St. Francis Xavier was beatified by Paul V on 25 October 1619, and was canonized by Gregory XV on 12 March 1622. He is considered to be one of the greatest missionaries since St. Paul. His feast is celebrated all over the world on 3rd December, in remembrance of his death.

The body of St Francis Xavier which miraculously defied the laws of nature, of turning into dust, lies till this day in a silver casket in the Church of Bom Jesus Basilica in Goa, India. Once every 10 years, the relics are brought down from the mausoleum and placed in Sé Catedral, which is opposite the Basilica, for veneration.