Joseph Naik Vaz Institute also commemorates 1st death anniversary of Pope Francis, which coincided with birth anniversary of St Joseph Vaz
PANAJI
The Joseph Naik Vaz Institute in California marked the 375th birth anniversary of St Joseph Vaz on April 21, by hosting a special service at the St John the Baptist Church, San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito, California, on April 26.
The congregation also commemorated the first death anniversary of Pope Francis, who had canonised him in Sri Lanka in 2015, as his death anniversary coincided with the birth anniversary of St Joseph Vaz, the Patron of Goa Archdiocese and the Apostle of Sri Lanka and Mangalore-Kanara in India.
The entrance hymn was a Hindustani hymn celebrating the Divine Light of God ‘Divya Jyoti ki Baraat Aayi hai’ composed and sung in a garland of 5 Indian Ragas by Rita Sahai, the 2026 Winner of the international Hind Rattan Award to an overseas Indian who has contributed to keeping the Spirit of India alive. Vivek Anand who also specialises in Sufi sacred music and her students, John and Filomena Giese, also sang with Sahai. The church choir sang western hymns for the rest of the Mass.
An African priest, Fr Chrisanttus Nakanda from the Cameroon was the main celebrant, while the concelebrants were Vietnamese pastor Fr Thuong of St John’s Church and Tamil Indian Fr Sebastian Titus from St Mary Magdalen Church.
Brother Mark Murphy, FSC, from the Lasallian Christian Brothers Foundation who had spent 10 years in Chennai-India, was also present at the service.
In his homily, a Tongan Deacon, Loch Sekona, member of the Pacific Asian Pastoral Centre of the Diocese of Oakland’s Pastoral Centres, said St Joseph Vaz had risked his life for his flock.
He wove in the heroic life and service of the young 17th century Indian priest to abandoned and persecuted Indian and Sri Lankan Catholics and to his relatively large number of converts.
A skilful East-West mix of music and language enhanced the celebration.
The mixed ethnic congregation at the Mass was blessed by a message sent by the Goan-origin Bishop of Columbus Earl Fernandes, representing the U.S. bishops as the First U.S Bishop of Asian Indian origin and President of the U.S Bishops’ Committee for Asian and Pacific Asian Catholics.
In his message, Bishop Fernandes described St Joseph Vaz as an outstanding preacher and missionary.
“St Joseph Vaz was an instrument of unity...and was a bridge for others rather than a barrier. His personal witness invites those of us who are commemorating his birth to examine our own consciences to see whether we are working to promote unity within the church and within our communities,” said Bishop Fernandes.
“His witness reminds us of the need for the Church to renew her missionary impulse never contenting herself with maintaining what she has already established. As such, while anniversaries such as these can be an occasion for pride in our religious, ethnic and cultural heritage, they can also be a launching point for greater vigour in the mission of evangelisation,” he said, while expressing his gratitude to all those who have promoted devotion to St Joseph Vaz.
Joseph Naik Vaz Institute founder Filomena Saraswati Giese later stated that the Institute’s Mass celebrating the 375th birth anniversary of St Joseph Naik Vaz was a successful composite East-West Mass of significant ethnic and cultural elements, linking Asian Indians and Californian Americans of different ethnic and spiritual stripes.
“We felt that we had somehow spiritually and culturally cemented the historic link between the very faraway Indian Church of St John the Baptist Church in Goa, where the Indian-Sri Lankan Apostle St Joseph Vaz was baptised 375 years ago, our interfaith friends, and the 100 year-old St John the Baptist Church in California-US, where his loyal devotees in the diaspora had offered many Masses for his canonisation in the 21st century,” said Giese.
Giese thanked the pastor Fr Thuong and the priests and staff and volunteers of St John the Baptist Church led by Ed Bautista, as well as the pastor Fr Glisson, priests Fr Wilson Sagarayaj and Fr Sebasian Titus, both from Madras-Chennai, and staff of St Mary Magdalen Church led by Norah Hippoyte, for their support, encouragement, prayers and resources towards the successful Asian Indian-Sri Lankan pastoral experience in the U.S.
“We thank all our committee members Ligia Britto, George Pinto, Noella Fernandes, Filomena and Newton Fernandes, Mihiri Dias, Kevin James, and Christopher and Natasha Giese, and many other community supporters who made this multi-faceted Celebration possible,” she added.
