Pope Francis died on April 21, the birthday of Goa’s illustrious son, St Joseph Vaz, whom His Holiness had canonized in 2015
Pope Francis during the canonisation ceremony of St Joseph Vaz at Sri Lanka in 2015.
CALIFORNIA
The commentaries on the life and death of Pope Francis today have been about his life and his work. They include the statements of bishops here in California and in India and by the international Global Goenkar community.
Cardinal Felipe Neri Ferrao of Goa, Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, and Archbishop Salvatore Joseph Cordileone of San Francisco praised his saintly life and his caring concern for the poor and the marginalised who suffer most from economic injustice and environmental damage, and for his appeals for compassion and help to immigrants and refugees.
Everyone was unanimous in praising his reforms within the Church. They referred to their meetings with the very approachable Pope, and his warmth toward all people he met. Some praised him for his efforts at inclusivity toward women, and other communities such as the LGBT community. Pope Francis showed Christ’s all-embracing love and compassion toward all.
Pope Francis - St Joseph Vaz link
We have a different Pope Francis story to tell: Our St Joseph Vaz connection. Our Joseph Naik Vaz Institute had a working relationship with him during his papacy. His Holiness approved our 2014 Petition, along with the efforts of the Sri Lankan Bishops, to canonize St Joseph Vaz.
First, the amazing coincidence. Pope Francis died on April 21, the birthday of St Joseph Vaz whom His Holiness canonized in 2015.
He gave us Goans, Mangaloreans, and Sri Lankans our first canonized Saint. We are honoured by this mysterious coincidence of the date of his entry into eternal life and the “Communion of Saints” and the birthday of the Saint the Church calls the Son of India, and Apostle of Sri Lanka and Kanara (India).
Another Pope Francis-Vaz link is that both he and St Joseph Vaz had a love for refugees.
Pope Francis spoke about the need to help and support immigrants and refugees, even a few days before his death. We have this precious refugee link to Pope Francis in that he canonized Saint Joseph Vaz who came as a refugee from Dutch persecution in northern Sri Lanka to the Buddhist kingdom of Kandy. St Joseph Vaz spent 23 years caring for and ministering to refugees in Sri Lanka, as Pope Francis has asked us to do, giving them the Eucharist, food and material help, nursing care at his clinics around Sri Lanka.
At his Canonization, Pope Francis praised St Joseph Vaz as a model of Christian charity and what the Church herself does, taking care of those in need and those who are sick, just as St Joseph Vaz had done during a smallpox epidemic in Kandy.
One final Vaz link to Pope Francis is my encounter with Cardinal Mario Grech, Pope Francis’ closest advisor on the Synod, just three weeks before His Holiness passed away.
We met on April 4 at the Conference on “Synod and Mission” organized by the Jesuit Santa Clara University. I was able to tell Cardinal Grech that St Joseph Vaz trained the Laity to run his network of underground chapels and churches that he organised under Dutch persecution, just as Pope Francis wants us to do.
His Indian Oratorians and this loyal Sri Lankan Catholic Laity ran that persecuted Church for 146 years when they were cut off from Rome. Thus, St Joseph Vaz, his Indian missionaries, and his Sri Lankan Laity were the forerunners and models of synodal missionaries that Pope Francis was advocating for in the future Church.
Today, I was able to send Cardinal Grech as well as to Santa Clara University, and to the Jesuit School of Theology, our heartfelt Condolences on the death of Pope Francis and to say that by a beautiful spiritual coincidence, our Synodal Pope and future Saint had passed into eternal life on April 21, the birthday of our Synodal Missionary Saint Joseph Vaz.
[The writer is President of the Joseph Naik Vaz Institute, Berkeley, California, which now has a Petition before Pope Francis to make St. Joseph Vaz Patron Saint of his multiple contributions to humanity and the Church. If interested, please contact us at josephnaik.vaz@gmail.com]
