Hi Dom,
I couldn't quite follow your line of thought. Your choice of words is intriguing but also more cryptic than clear. What are 'ancestral perceptions'? And what has 'astral' to do with them? You then name three architects, including a legendary Egyptian and move on to Fr Jose Vaz, now a saint. No black or brown Catholic can become a saint without formal approval by the holy white guys at the Vatican. It is true that it took nearly three centuries for Vaz to become saint. First, a bit of history: Vaz died in Kandy (Ceylon) in 1711 after a long illness. His cause for sainthood was taken up within two years of his death by the Jesuit Bishop of Cochin. Vaz's order, the Oratorians, investigated his 'miracles' and sent the results to Rome. Pope Benedict XIV was not impressed and dismissed the petition in 1742. The cause was revived at the turn of the 20th century. A great deal of evidence on miracles was collected and submitted to the austere Pope Pius XII in 1956. More petitions by bishops and laity followed. The Eurocentric Pope was not moved. [In contrast, the Spaniard, Junipero Serra, who had founded the Franciscan missions in California in the 18 century was beatified in 1988 despite strong objections from Native Americans and 40 American historians & anthropologists. His cause was started just four years earlier, in 1884. The European Vatican supports their own compatriots.] And by the way, Dom, why your special interest in a Basilica for St Vaz? Eddie -------------------------------------------------- On Tuesday, 6 August 2019 17:50:30 BST, dom martin <dommartin9...@gmail.com> wrote: As mortals, our ancestral perceptions are more terrestrial than astral. However, there are stellar exceptions in the likes of Imhotep, Leonardo de Vinci, Frank Lloyd Wright, etc. In the Goan galaxy, we have a glowing deprivation. It took us almost three centuries before we could huff and puff a fellow Goan up a divine pedestal. Given that track record, it will likely take another three centuries before we see the realization of the Basilica of St. Jose Vaz. However, now that our very own Santo Bhav has a new email address (st.jose...@heaven.god), perhaps, he can pull some strings, as well as miraculously jump-start the quadriplegic Goan hamstring, so that Goenkars can swiftly band together and rubber-band the requisite capital to complete the Basilica on or before Goanet's Ruby (or Rubaiyat) jubilee! PS: Some three decades ago, I contributed 50,000 rupees towards the then Blessed Jose's cause. If that sum was petrified into a CD, it should now be significant enough to serve as the first official “fator” for the proposed Basilica. And since musculoskeletal ailments have incapacitated my palette, I am graciously willing to offer what is left of my corpus as an easel to fellow artists, so that when they are called upon to dedicate their creativity to St. Jose's glory, they can oblige without fret, let or hindrance! Dom Martin
