The joyous pealing of the two large and sonorous Saligao Church bells at 5 a.m. heralds the beginning of the patronal feast of Mae de Deus in the north Goa village of Saligao on the first Sunday of May every year. This is followed by the lovely and rousing music of . . . → Read More: A bird’s eye view of the Saligao Feast of Mae de Deus]]> http://saligaoserenade.com/2012/05/a-bird%e2%80%99s-eye-view-of-the-saligao-feast-of-mae-de-deus/ The launch of “Land of the Sal Tree”, a book on Saligao written by Fr. Nascimento J Mascarenhas, will take place today, the 26th of April 2012, at the Mae de Deus Church in Saligao, after the evening services.

The 312-page book is about the “histories, legends and traditions of Saligao, a typical Goan village”. . . . → Read More: Land of the Sal Tree]]> http://saligaoserenade.com/2012/04/land-of-the-sal-tree/ by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

Had Ermelinda Fatima dos Remedios been alive, she would be celebrating her 59th birthday today.  Ermelinda was affectionately known as Emmie, and when she returned home from Bahrain or Bangalore to Saligao, she always made it a point to visit me, accompanied by her beloved parents and sister Effie. I remember . . . → Read More: The amiable nurse]]> http://saligaoserenade.com/2012/04/the-amiable-nurse/ by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

Lenten observances have always been elaborate and intense in the churches of Goa, and the ceremonies I witnessed when I was growing up in Saligao during the 1940s and 1950s are etched in my memory.

The liturgy of the Holy Week began at Mae de Deus Church in Saligao with the . . . → Read More: Palm Sunday at Saligao Church and Passo at St. Anne’s Chapel]]> http://saligaoserenade.com/2012/03/palm-sunday-at-saligao-church-and-santos-passo-at-st-anne%e2%80%99s-chapel/ by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

As we come to the end of the season of Lent, and approach Holy Week 2012, my thoughts go back to about a decade ago, during the time of the Golden Jubilee celebrations at the Seminary of Our Lady, at Saligao in Goa. At that time, I attended the Chrism Mass . . . → Read More: Chrism Mass at Saligao Seminary]]> http://saligaoserenade.com/2012/03/chrism-mass-at-saligao-seminary/ by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

Today is the tenth death anniversary of Cecilia Cordeiro, mother of Lorna — the nightingale of Goa – from the village of Saligao. Cecilia’s other children are Elvino, Albert, Jean, Oscar, Salvador and Clementine, and her husband was Teofilo Cordeiro.

At the time of her death in Dhobi Talao, Mumbai, on . . . → Read More: Remembering the mother of Goan Nightingale Lorna]]> http://saligaoserenade.com/2012/03/remembering-the-mother-of-goan-nightingale-lorna/ by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

Joseph Anthony Vaz, the first Goan Officer of the prestigious Indian Civil Service (ICS), had roots in Saligao.  Son of Antonio Caetano Vaz from Donvaddo in Saligao, Goa, Joseph was born in Karachi on 22 April 1875. He was the first member of the Goan community and among the earliest . . . → Read More: The first Goan ICS Officer]]> http://saligaoserenade.com/2012/02/the-first-goan-ics-officer/ by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

Twelve years ago, on 12 February 2000, Goa’s then Archbishop-Patriarch Dr. Raul Nicolau Gonsalves blessed another new church in Goa. This time it was in south Goa at Tilamola in Quepem taluka. I was there to witness the three-hour-long ceremony at this new Goa church, which was both solemn and spiritually . . . → Read More: Tilamola and Fr. Erlick de Souza of Saligao]]> http://saligaoserenade.com/2012/02/tilamola-and-fr-erlick-de-souza-of-saligao/ by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

On Friday the 13th of January 2012, the Costa Concordia cruise ship hit a rock and partially capsized off the coast of Italy. Of the 4252 passengers and crew aboard, 17 died and 16 are still unaccounted for as of yesterday, 30th January. Our hearts and prayers go out to all . . . → Read More: Goa’s worst ferry disaster]]> http://saligaoserenade.com/2012/01/goas-worst-ferry-disaster/ by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

In days gone by, Saligao was reputed all over Goa as a nursery of budding Goan musicians. In the 1940s and 50s when I was a young lad, almost every household in Saligao had at least one young member learning music at school, and many took additional private lessons. The violin . . . → Read More: The Goan violinist in Ceylon]]> http://saligaoserenade.com/2012/01/the-goan-violinist-in-ceylon/