Joao Barros Pereira is absolutely right. It was St.Francis Xavier and his
European pals who commissioned the Goan inquisition which led to the
massacre and death of thousands of Konkan people. The Goan inquisition
together with the others were despicable crimes authorised by the Euro
Church and hence this Francis Xavier becomes a criminal but not in the eyes
of the Euro Church based in the Vatican.
In addition, Francis had no special love for Goa people and lived in Goa for
under a year. He like other Euro clerics found the near-black Konkan people
unattractive and their culture coarse. He was fascinated by the Japanese
people who were white like him and it is strange that someone decided to
return his corpse to Goa instead of leaving it in the Far East.
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Let’s learn more about St Francis.
Goans (especially of the older ones) have a deep, almost patriotic, devotion
to Francis Xavier.Yet Amcho Saib or Goencho Saib (as he is called) was
hardly resident in Goa – just about 10 months out of a total stay of 10
years in the East. When he arrived in Goa on 6th May 1542 (32 years after
its conquest by the Portuguese), the capital (Cidade de Goa) included a
substantial number of Europeans (mostly Portuguese) together with the
half-castes they had bred, and many African slaves. The native population
consisted of about 40,000 Hindus and Muslims, and a small number of
Christian converts.
St Francis himself didn’t seem to have any special regard for the natives of
Goa. He had some acquaintance with the ‘language of the blacks’ (falla
negra) but his real interest turned out to be the far East. He spoke Malay
and Japanese. He died on the small Chinese island of Sancian aged 46 years.
He was first buried in Sancian in a Chinese coffin; this was later packed
with lime (which acts as preservative) and shipped to Malacca where it was
buried again. When unearthed again, the body was found to be intact (except
for a wound in the cheek ). The ship taking the corpse left for Goa,
stopping at Cochin and Bhatkal.
On 15 March 1554, the corpse arrived in Goa and was carried in a solemn
procession to St Paul’s College in Old Goa. It was medically examined by the
Viceroy’s physician who found the presence of intestines still in place. The
remains were exposed for public veneration for three days and then entombed
near the high altar of St Paul’s Church.
By 1580, decay and desiccation had set in and the church authorities feared
the body would ‘crumble to dust’. In 1614, Pope Paul V asked for a relic,
whereupon the entire right arm was cut of The forearm and hand were
despatched to Rome. The upper arm was chopped into two and a part each sent
to the Malacca and Cochin Colleges. The shoulder blade was sent to Macao.
In 1622, Francis was canonised and the body moved to The Bom Jesus Church.
In 1626, ‘a true dissection’ was carried out and all the internal organs
removed. They were divided into lots and sent to different countries.
In 1654, a fourth toe was found missing. Earlier, a noble lady, Dona Isabel
Caron, acquired a personal relic by biting off the small toe.
In 1696, the Jesuit Provincial Afonso argued that the “limbs had dried up,
the flesh had hardened and looked moth-eaten and the face deformed”.
Finally, Superior General Tamorini ordered that the body be enclosed and
never opened again. The fear was that if the people were to see the real
condition of the body under the priestly vestments, they would accuse the
Jesuits of fraud.
In 1744, King Dom Joao V allowed the coffin to be re-opened and again in
1751.
In 1759, Prime Minister, The Marquis of Pombal, a powerful figure, clashed
with the Jesuits and expelled them from Portugal and its possessions. St
Francis body came under the direct control of the Archbishop. To quell
rumours that the Jesuits hadn’t substituted the body, it was decided to
expose it for public veneration.
In 1782 The first ceremonial exposition was held and thereafter after
roughly every 10 years, following a medical examination.
In 1890, the third toe of the right foot had dropped off;
in 1910, the second toe of the right foot was found hanging by a filament of
skin. The right foot now had a single toe – the big toe.
1952 was the fourth anniversary of Xavier’s death and a thorough medical
examination was conducted,, including the uncovered parts. The parts
remained were the empty skull, left missing, right ear decaying, the left
arm and the two feet. When the vestments were removed, just a heap of bones
was found (loose vertebrae, ribs and bone fragments) and pieces of dry skin.
Patriarch Costa Nunes is believed to have exclaimed: “The miracle is over.”
Further deterioration continued – yet the grotesque remnants, now encased in
a crystal urn, continue to be exposed.
Was there ever a miracle or just a quirk of nature?
Source: Goa Today (Nov 1984) monthly
Eddie
