Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão, the Archbishop of Goa and Daman at the inaugural of the Exposition of St Francis Xavier’s Relics.
PANAJI
Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao, the Archbishop of Goa and Daman exhorted the faithful to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the 45-day Exposition of St Francis Xavier’s relics to strengthen their relationship with God by following the example and imbibing the spiritual traits of the sixteenth century saint.
In a video message issued on Thursday when the 45-day decennial Exposition of St Xavier’s relics was inaugurated, Ferrao likened his missionary zeal to that of St Paul.
“Despite a short life of just 46 years, St Francis Xavier left for us an exemplary legacy of a life of faith, service to others and self sacrifice,” Ferrao said in his message.
He said, the Spanish Jesuit priest who paid particular attention to the poor and the lesser people of his times when he worked as a missionary in India and Goa, besides other places of South Asia as well as in Japan.
“We all need healing, bodily and spiritual. Each time we come to Old Goa to venerate St Francis Xavier’s relic during the Exposition, let us pray through his intercession that we all may get this healing of body and spirit, so that we can be messengers of the word of Christ, just as he was,” Ferrao added.
“We are called to spread it as St. Francis did in his life,” the prelate said.
