TUESDAY, JULY 02, 2024
Team Herald
PORVORIM: Sadness and dismay hung heavy among parishioners after the demolition axe came down on the St Anthony Chapel, popularly known as the ‘Kasnichem Kopel,’ along NH 66 in Porvorim on Monday evening.
The demolition of the cherished 460-year-old shrine was carried out as part of the road widening and construction of an elevated corridor to ease traffic bottlenecks in this part of Porvorim.
Porvorim residents said the site has historical significance for them as it was a place of community prayers for the first Christian converts, even before the churches of Socorro, Salvador do Mundo or Penha de Franca were built in the Comunidade of Serula village.
They added that Franciscan priests travelled from the Reis Magos rectory to Porvorim and preached the gospel to the new converts who were baptised at this very site.
“I took over as chaplain this month, so I am unfamiliar with its history. However, the demolition was carried out in a respectful manner. A crucifix and statues of Our Lady of Fatima, Baby Jesus in a manger, and two statues of St Anthony are safely in our custody,” said Fr Francisco Xavier Fernandes, resident chaplain of the Our Lady of Candelaria Chapel at Baixo de Porvorim.
But unlike other places of worship, which have been relocated to lands near their original sites, the ‘Kasnichem Kopel’ has nowhere to go.
The confraria committee members who met O Heraldo were still coming to terms with the demolition.
“We are not against development. But the chapel should have been relocated first. The sentiments of the people shouldn’t be hurt,” said Cajetan Vaz.
“Ever since the news broke out, people have been calling us. Our Hindu brethren, who used to light candles here every Tuesday, have also offered to help us rebuild it,” added Connie Pinto.
“We have been informed that there is an open space in the nearby Green Hill locality. If there is a consensus, we will have to shift it there. But the location is away from the highway,” said Philip Dias.
“We are uncertain, but we are hopeful that someone will donate land along the highway itself. At a meeting with the local MLA and PWD engineers, we were assured that the PWD will rebuild our chapel once land for the purpose is found. But the site must be 25 metres away from the centre of the highway, keeping in mind future expansion plans,” Jason Andrade told O Heraldo.
Confraria committee members said that while it would have been ideal to relocate the shrine to the plot immediately behind the site, they discovered that the land has been bought by a person named Sharma, whom they were unable to trace.
Some parishioners, though, were in the dark about the demolition and expressed their shock. “In 2004, the then-chaplain Fr Joseph Salema had written to the PWD that the parishioners of Porvorim had no objection to the chapel being demolished on the condition that it was relocated first. This condition has not been met,” said a Porvorim resident, who requested anonymity.
Fr Urbino Monteiro, a resident of Porvorim, recalled that devotion at the shrine gained fervour in the early 1950’s. “The shrine originally did not have a statue of St Anthony. There were two statues inside, in a very dilapidated condition. They were probably of St Francis Xavier and St Claire. The two statues could not be restored and were replaced around 1953 when the late Oslinda Pinto do Rosario donated a statue of St Anthony, and it began to be called St Anthony’s Chapel since then,” said Fr Monteiro.
The shrine was also renovated by the late Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas and Oswald Ribeiro, an engineer, in the 1970’s.
While its feast is celebrated on the last Sunday of October, residents recall that even feast Masses were celebrated beside the shrine when highway traffic was much less in the 1970s and '80s.
PWD Assistant Engineer Dinesh Tare said, “The chapel will be relocated. They will be provided land, and we will construct it for them. The contractor will construct it. It has not been decided which contractor will do it.”
According to Tare, this is the third chapel that will be relocated. Two chapels were relocated at Agasaim and were built by the contractor. “It is not a big issue. It will be resolved amicably,” he said.
