the goan I network
PANAJI
Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Sunday visited the world heritage sites at the church complex at Old Goa, including the Basilica of Bom Jesus where the relics of 16th century saint, St Francis Xavier are preserved.
He also visited the Institute Mater Dei Santa Monica, a church in the Old Goa heritage precincts and the Christian Art Museum located there. The Rector of the Basilica of Bom Jesus Fr Patricio Fernandes told the media that de Sousa was impressed with the structure and the spiritual vibes at the Basilica.
The Portuguese president had on Saturday addressed a seminar on Urban Designs in Panaji before attending a State dinner hosted in his honour at the Raj Bhavan. While speaking at the function on Saturday the Portuguese president said he was feeling at home in India, especially in Goa because of the coastal state’s human micro-climate.
The Portuguese president made specific reference to Goa’s unique position in India, but warned that clinging on to nostalgia of the past would not be beneficial.
“This is also our challenge -- to make the bridge between the past and the future. We cannot have ‘nostalgia-vision’ of any kind in any place. My advice for Goa is not the nostalgic one because past is the past, but the past can become the future if we take advantage of that past,” Sousa said.
“I came here and saw a little bit of the cultural heritage we left in Goa… As much I am proud of the cultural heritage India has left on my culture, the Portuguese culture on my history, the Portuguese history on the survival of my nation, we are what we are because we had differences at that point,” Sousa said referring to the acrimonious relations between India and Portugal in the aftermath of India’s annexation of Goa in 1961.
He said there are no first class or second class cultures. All cultures are first class cultures and civilisation.
