Goans in Adelaide await to welcome Goemcho Saib’s relic

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Published on Friday, 10 August 2012 10:20

ADELAIDE: Goans living in Adelaide- Australia may be thousands of miles from the relic of St Francis Xavier at Old Goa, but the community awaits a unique opportunity to venerate a relic of ‘Goemcho Saib’ which is headed towards their home town.

The relic – an arm of St Francis Xavier – has been venerated at the Church of Gesu in Rome since it was detached from the body of the saint in 1614 and will be on an Australia tour later this year.

Goan families living in Adelaide are all excited to welcome the relic of Goemcho Saib and are preparing for the services at the Cathedral of St Francis Xavier, located in the Victoria Square in Adelaide City.

To mark the event, the Goan and Indian community have been allotted a Eucharistic celebration and a get together on October 16. Almost every Goan family in Adelaide is expected to play a significant role in the service and extend hospitality to catholic families participating in the celebrations.

Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, Peter Comensoli, who is coordinating the tour of the relic, was quoted as saying in The Southern Cross that is “very rare” for the relic of the arm to leave Rome.

Archbishop of Adelaide Philip Wilson has described the visit of the relic as a “miracle” in itself.

Jesuit Provincial Fr Steve Curtin said the Society of Jesus would be actively involved in the tour of the arm, with which St. Francis Xavier baptised many thousands of people. He said it was an opportunity to present the Jesuits’ history and spirituality to a wide audience.

Such is the traditional fervour to celebrate the feast of the saint that every year on December 3, Archbishop of Adelaide Philip Wilson joins the Australian and Goan Catholic community in celebrating St Xavier’s feast with a high mass.

This also gives the Goan community an opportunity to celebrate the feast away from home.

The relic will later travel to the Port Pirie Diocese in South Australia, as part of its Australia tour.

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