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Old Goa
Come Wednesday, Catholics in Goa will enter the 40 day Lent season which dwells on the suffering of Christ and his crucifixion. To make Lent more meaningful, the Church has for the first time organised a walking pilgrimage where the faithful will walk a distance of around 10 kms and converge at Sancoale, the place where St Joseph Vaz emboldened his faith.
The pilgrimage is scheduled on the first Sunday of Lent i.e. on March 10 early in the morning. Pilgrims will gather at six centres across the state“ four in South Goa including Verna, Quellossim, Chicalim and Vasco and two in North Goa including Mandur and Goa Velha from where they will begin the pilgrimage.
Speaking exclusively to The Goan, parish priest of Se Cathedral who has also been appointed the convenor of the walking pilgrimage committee Fr Alfred Vaz informed that the pilgrimage is a concept of the Bishop who wants it to become an annual feature on the first Sunday of Lent.
“Because the last walk Jesus took to Calvary he walked it for us, and now we are walking for Christ. And as Christian faithfuls we are part of his walk in which we are learning to experience Christ in our life,” Fr Vaz elaborated.
“Through this walk, people will get an opportunity to earn the grace of redemption,” Fr Vaz opined, adding that the pilgrimage is also a means to share and proclaim the joy of being Christians.
“To make this occasion graceful, the Church has asked the faithful to offer their fast on Ash Wednesday for the success of the pilgrimage,” he stated.
On the choosing of Sancoale, Fr Vaz said that St Joseph Vaz, who is the son of the soil, undertook his missionary journey on foot.
“In Sri Lanka he went walking from one end to the other. His walk itself has become a blessing and through his feet he blessed the land and carried the message. So we are also going to the same place in the Church where he grew up. We also walk to the same place to discover the grace of the great man of Goa who became a saint on his feet,”he said.
After reaching Sancoale, mass will be celebrated by the Bishop where there will also be an act of reconfirming the faith.
“The pilgrims will also get and opportunity to bring written petitions which will be put in the fire and later the Bishop will say a special prayer of blessing and through incense lift the petitions up to the Lord,” Fr Vaz said.
Walk of faith
Pilgrims will gather at six centres “ Verna, Quellossim, Chicalim, Vasco Mandur and Goa Velha from where they will begin the pilgrimage, walking a distance of 10 kms to Sancoale where mass will be celebrated by the Bishop
Pilgrims may get written petitions which will be put in the fire after a special prayer of blessing
People are requested to travel light
On all routes there will be points where pilgrims may refill their water
There will also be a doctor and a nurse stationed on all routes in case of any emergency, besides a medical cell at Sancoale
If anybody is unable to complete the walk, vehicles will be provided to take them to Sancoale
Pilgrims are urged not to travel in their own vehicles and make use of the buses procured by the respective parishes
We are expecting around 400 buses and hence no private vehicle will be allowed to park as there won’t be any space, informed the convenor of the walking pilgrimage committee, Fr Alfred Vaz
7000 faithful expected to participate
Old Goa: Around 7000 pilgrims are expected to participate in the walking pilgrimage and the committee appointed to oversee the preparations is leaving no stone unturned to make it a success.
Convenor of the walking pilgrimage committee Fr Alfred Vaz said that they will meet the DIG on Tuesday to work out the modalities of traffic plans.
“We are expecting around 7000 pilgrims from across the state to participate and we request people to travel light and not carry too much weight,” he informed and added that pilgrims should carry a small water bottle, hand towel and a Rosary.
“On all routes there will be points where pilgrims may refill their water,” Fr Vaz stated and added that there will also be a doctor and a nurse stationed along all routes in case there is any medical emergency.
“At Sancoale also there will be a medical cell,” he added.
“If anybody is unable to complete the walk vehicles will be provided to take them directly to Sancoale,” he further said.
While urging the pilgrims not to delay, Fr Vaz appealed them not to travel in their own vehicles and make use of the buses procured by the respective parishes.
“We are expecting around 400 buses and arrangements have been made for parking for these buses. No private vehicle will be allowed to park as there won’t be any space,” he informed.
