PANJIM: All roads in the State will lead to Old Goa for the annual feast of St Francis Xavier (SFX), popularly known as ‘GoenchoSaib’, on Monday.
On the feast day, Masses will be held at 3.45 am, 5 am, 6.15 am, 7.30 am, 8.45 am and the Feast Mass will be at 10.30 am where Bishop of Baroda Sebastiao Mascarenhas, SFX, will be the main celebrant while, Archbishop of Goa and Daman Filipe Neri Cardinal Ferrao will be the concelebrant.
Several Cardinals and Bishops such as Bishop of Sindhudurg Allwyn Barreto, Bishop of Daltonganj Theodore Mascarenhas, Bishop Emeritus of Port Blair Aleixo Das de Neves Dias, SFX, besides Vicar Generals and parish priests will also be present, Rector of Basilica of Bom Jesus Fr Patricio Fernandes told O Heraldo.
There will be an interpreter in sign language for the Feast Mass for the convenience of the hearing impaired.
After the feast Mass, there will Masses hourly from 1 pm till 6 pm, with the last Mass being in English.
This year since December 3 is the first Sunday of Advent, a feast of a Saint cannot be held as per church rules, hence the feast is celebrated on Monday, December 4, Fr Fernandes informed.
The theme for this year is ‘Like St Francis Xavier, let us do as Jesus did’.
Fr Fernandes also informed that in preparation for the next year’s feast and the Exposition of the relics of St Francis Xavier, the theme ‘We are messengers of the Good News’ has already been declared.
Meanwhile, hundreds of pilgrims from Goa and parts of India on a walking pilgrimage have reached Old Goa for the feast. Also, several devotees have been camping within the precincts of Basilica of Bom Jesus throughout the novenas.
Meanwhile, the Goa Police has made elaborate security arrangements for lakhs of devotees thronging Old Goa for the annual feast of SFX. Also traffic police have made adequate steps to regulate traffic.