A saint in the making

‘An Oratorian savant, successor to Fr José Vas, who graced the Mission and made it grow for 37 years. He was born to Tomás Gonçalves, from Piedade and Mariana Abreu, from Graça, in the village Graça, Chorão, on June 6, 1676. He died on July 17, 1742, and is buried in the Bolawate Church, Ceylon. rStrange as it may appear, after the solemn commemoration held at Ceylon in 1942, on the occasion of the 2nd centenary of his death occurred in 1742, and the enthusiastic celebrations of the 210th death anniversary, in 1952, by his native Island of Divar, in Goa -- the memory of Fr Jácome was gradually allowed to fall into oblivion. rHowever, with the recent canonization of St Joseph Vaz, the spotlight is now on the Cause of Fr Jácome and there is presently great enthusiasm and effervescence in Sri Lanka and Goa, in particular in his native Divar. rIn Sri Lanka, where his missionary action took place and where he rests in a grave at the St Mary’s Church at Bolwatte, the congregation venerate Fr Jácome as a saint, hoping that he would at least be beatified very soon. rIn Goa, Fr Eremito Rebello, former vice-postulator for the cause of canonization of St Joseph Vaz, initiated in 2015 the spade work for reviving the cause of his canonization, and preliminary action has been initiated with the active participation of his co-islanders of Divar. rThe parishioners at Our Lady of Piety Church, at his native island of Divar, immediately held an annual commemoration day, to pay tribute to the great missionary. A more than 200-year-old portrait of Fr Jacome Gonsalves, presently honoured in the photo-gallery of the parochial residence, was garlanded and placed below the altar. rOn the occasion, the Divarkars formulated a plan to undertake the preliminary work of instituting the cause of canonization of the illustrious son of the Island. rAn Executive Committee under the chairmanship of the parish-priest, Fr Jose Dias, was constituted to coordinate and focus all the local ractivities. rMost importantly, a prayer group formed to pray for the Cause. rEnthusiastic celebrations were held in Divar on July 17, 2016, in commemoration of his 274th death anniversary, by holding a solemn concelebrated mass at the Our Lady of Piety Church, attended by a large congregation, with people coming even from neighbouring islands to honour the saintly missionary. rThe religious service was followed by the naming ceremony of the main village road, fronting his three-and-half century old ancestral house, as ‘Fr Jacome Gonsalves Road’. The plaque was jointly unveiled by Fr Eremito Rebello and Eng Jose de Albuquerque, in the presence of a large and enthusiastic crowd. rThe turret room at his ancestral house, which has been re-done and dedicated to his memory, was solemnly blessed by the parish priest, Fr Jose Dias. rA statue of the saintly missionary will be shortly installed in this room. In the meantime a cut-out of the saintly missionary has been placed at the entrance of the room. A pamphlet published on this occasion, in English (and Konkani), giving a short description of the saintly life of Fr Jácome, was released for distribution to the co-islanders. rA book on the saintly missionary ‘Fr Jácome Gonsalves - A magnificent Life’ by Eng Jose de Albuquerque was released on the occasion of the Feast of the Lord Redeemer, at Piedade, on November r20, 2016. rPilgrims from Sri Lanka who visit the shrine of St Joseph Vaz at Sancoale, Goa, now take the opportunity to visit the ancestral house of Jácome and pray in the room particularly dedicated to his memory. rPresently a number of high-level pilgrimages led by the Sri Lankan Bishops, have come to Divar, besides groups from Portugal.