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Feast in honour of first Indian saint, devotees head to Vasai Fort

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Today, Vasai fort will come alive as the Gonsalo Garcia church hosts a feast in honour of its patron saint.

Thousands of devotees are expected to throng the fort, which is the birthplace of Saint Gonsalo Garcia, India’s first saint, to celebrate the 152nd year of his canonisation.

The saint was born as Gonçalo Garcia in 1557. Documents in the Lisbon Archives (ANTT) describe Gonsalo Garcia as a ‘natural de Agaçaim’ or ‘resident of Agashi’ village in Bassein, which is now known as Vasai. His father was a Portuguese soldier and his mother a Canarim, which is what the Portuguese called the inhabitants of the Konkan.

The festival of St Gonsalo has come to be held on the first Sunday nearest to the neap tide following Christmas. “He was born and brought up in Vasai and later moved to Japan with other missionaries. During the feast, we hold prayer meetings inside the old church, which is decorated for the event by the youth from the Koliwada. Also, every church in Vasai will see thousands of devotees coming to pray and seek the blessings of the saint,” said Fr Francis D’Britto of St Thomas Church in Sandor.

Garcia was trained by Jesuit priests at the college near the Vasai Fort. After moving to Japan and staying there for a few years, he moved to Manila in Philippines as a lay missionary. He soon moved back to Japan. But the Japanese rulers suspected the missionaries of sedition. In January 1597, they were arrested and imprisoned and in February, Gonsalo and 26 others were crucified in Nagasaki.

In 1627, Garcia and his fellow martyrs were declared “venerable” by Pope Urban VIII. It took the Catholic Church over 250 years to declare him a saint on June 8, 1862.

“This year is special for us as our beloved patron saint completes 152 years of sainthood.

He spent his whole life spreading the message of peace and Jesus Christ,” said Fr D’Britto.

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