Faithful proceed to Old Goa

OLD GOA: A corner of the Basilica corridor, nearest to the mausoleum housing the Sacred Relics of St Francis Xavier, has been much coveted by pilgrims through the years, for they believe it offers them a few days of proximity to
the saint.
Although the Sacred Relics will be placed in the Se Cathedral for veneration this year, the devotees that have slowly begun to trickle into Old Goa continue to head straight to the Basilica of Bom Jesus to occupy their usual spaces in the corridors.
Luciana Monteiro is among the scores of pilgrims who have made this area their home for decades, right from their childhood, during the annual run-up to the feast of the Spanish saint. Now, all of 76-years-old, the frail lady from Bastora hopes to stay in the Basilica precincts for the next 10 days.
“My children and grandchildren are working. They have no time to stay here. They will come in the morning, attend mass and go to work,” Monteiro said, leaning against the few belongings she had brought with her.

Every year, thousands of pilgrims visit Old Goa to participate in the nine-day novena to St. Francis Xavier. Numbers are expected to swell this year as his Sacred Relics are lowered for veneration.
While most devotees come for a day or two, a few hundred pilgrims stay for the entire duration of the novena. The situation is expected to be no different this year, except for the fact that pilgrims may stay on for a longer duration.
Monteiro is not alone in her vigil. Pilgrims from Belgaum and Sawantwadi have also begun to arrive and take shelter near the permanent resting place of St. Francis Xavier.
Shanti Figueiredo from Lalwadi, Belgaum chose to travel to Old Goa by public transport, leaving her husband and children behind. “We used to walk to Goa earlier, but now my legs hurt and I can’t manage,” Figueiredo said as she explained that her family would walk the entire distance with the village group.
The tradition of pilgrims arriving into Old Goa on foot is as old as it is perilous. Apart from braving the heat and physical discomfort associated with the practice, some even have to stave off wild animals as they trek across hills and plains to reach the Goencho Saib.
Rosie Fernandes from Margao is another devotee who has made the Basilica her home during the novenas. Her grandson, now based in Nagpur, is a priest at the Society of the Missionaries of St. Francis Xavier. “He will be leading devotees from Nagpur on a pilgrimage to Goa during the novenas,” she beamed.