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by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas
If Etelvina de Melo, from Sonarbhatt in Saligao, were alive today, she would surely have been honoured with an award on International Women’s Day (which is observed on March 8th) in recognition of her pioneering work in the field of women’s education in Saligao.
Etelvina de Melo was born on 1st January 1869. She was one of the seven children of Nicolau de Melo from Sonarbhatt, six of whom were girls. All the daughters, except Etelvina, were sent by their father to do their schooling in Bombay. Etelvina remained in Saligao, where she did her Portuguese studies and at the same time learned to play the violin. As she showed keen interest in studies, her parents decided to send her too to the convent school in Bombay where her sisters were studying. Continue reading The Trail-Blazing Educationist
by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas
After I wrote about what some of the Goan villages of Bardez in the north of Goa are famous for, one or two people chided me for confining my scope to just one part of Goa. As this essay was also posted on GoaNet, I presume others too must have had similar feelings. Dr Nandkumar Kamat of Goa University sent me an e-mail in which he stated: “By Indian standards our Goa villages may be small, but there is so much to tell.” He was kind enough to share with me a few gems: The village of Morajim (Morgim) was known for the best toddy (sur), Siolim for oysters (kalvam); Calangute and Colva for mackerels (bangede), Sancoale for mussels (shinanye); the best asago rice came from Carambolim; and, the best korgut rice from Calapur and Combarjua. Continue reading What Are Goan Villages Famous For? – II
by Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas
Today is Valentine’s Day, the day earmarked to celebrate love and romance between couples. The history behind the origin of this festival is rather blurred, and there are several stories that link it to both Christian as well as ancient Roman traditions. The Church recognises more than one martyr named Valentine/Valentinus. However, the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints no longer mentions Saint Valentine on February 14th (St. Cyril and St. Methodius are associated with this date).
One of the legends refers to Valentine, a Roman priest and physician, who, during the reign of Emperor Claudius II, ministered to Christians in prison and often helped them escape. One fine day the Emperor decided that a man without the encumbrance of a wife and children would make a better soldier, and so he prohibited young men to marry. Valentine ignored this decree and continued to perform marriages for young couples. When the Emperor found out about this disregard for his command, he ordered that Valentine be executed. In prison, on the night before he was to be put to death, it is said that Valentine wrote a letter to the jailer’s daughter – whom he had befriended earlier after miraculously curing her blindness – and ended the letter with “From your Valentine”. So that’s why lovers send “valentines” to each other on February 14th, the day of St. Valentine’s execution in 269 AD. Of course there is no verifiable historical evidence for most of these contentions, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that last part about the letter and greetings was concocted by some canny greeting card company! Continue reading Unrequited love in Saligao
by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas
A few days ago I wrote about Fr John Cajetan Felix D’Silva, who celebrated his Silver Jubilee as a priest. Let me now tell pay tribute to our three Golden Jubilarians – Fr. Almir de Sousa, Fr. Thomas de Sousa and Fr. Casimiro D’Mello – who were ordained priests in December 1960, and celebrated their 50 golden years of service to God and His people in December 2010. Continue reading Fifty Years Of Dedicated Service
by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas
Recently, three priests from Saligao – Fr. Almir de Sousa, Fr. Thomas de Sousa and Fr. Casimiro D’Mello – celebrated the Golden Jubilee of their Ordination. At the same time, Fr. John Cajetan Felix D’Silva, ordained a priest on 28th December 1985, celebrated his Silver Jubilee. Let me tell you a little more about Fr John (today also happens to be his 57th birthday). Continue reading The Silver Jubilarian From Saligao
by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas
Just before an international cricket tournament commences or a cricket Test series involving India is imminent, cricket fever gradually builds up to a frenzy all over India. But few of today’s Indian cricket followers would be aware that it was Anthony Stanislaus de Mello – with ancestry in Saligao, Goa – who was responsible for putting India on the cricket map of the world in the early part of the last century. Continue reading The doyen of Indian cricket
by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas
While on visits to the parishioners of the Holy Spirit Church in Margao, I get a chance to visit the nuns of the two convents in the vicinity. One is the Maria Bambina Sisters (SCCG) Convent, at the Hospital do Hospício, not far from the church. Here Sr. Judith Fernandes, from Mudd’davaddi, Saligao, resides along with her community. Sr. Judith, a qualified nurse, works in the Hospício Hospital and teaches catechism to children at Holy Spirit Church. She has a twin sister who is also a nun – Sr. Jessie Fernandes. Sr. Jessie, also a school teacher, is at Assumpta Convent in Chinchinim and a member of Franciscan Sisters of St. Mary of the Angels (FSMA). At the Presentation Convent (Franciscan Hospitallers of Immaculate Conception – FHIC) I meet Sr. Noel Theresa Furtado. She came to Margao in 2010 and also teaches religion at our Sunday School. Incidentally, the FHIC has a convent in Saligao, located in Demelovaddo, Arrarim. It’s known as Shanti Niketan and has been founded in the ancestral house of the late Fr. Alberto Saldanha. Continue reading A Nun Of Substance
by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas
One sometimes wonders how Christian missionaries managed to converse with the foreigners they encountered in different parts of the world and convert them, as, almost invariably, the local language was totally different from the languages that the missionaries might have been familiar with. This of course applied to the Portuguese missionaries in Goa as well.
In his Brief of 23 March 1567, Pope Pius V declared that the Religious could exercise the functions of Parish Priests under condition that they were conversant with the language of the country. The Brief was directed to the King of Portugal. Further at the Fourth Provincial Synod of Goa, convened in 1592, the Fathers legislated that no priest could be appointed pastor of a church unless he knew the local language. Finally, the King of Portugal seems to have written in the same vein, for it is to the King that Frei Jeronymo do Espirito Santo, the Custos and Commissary General of the Franciscans in India, referred when in 1595 he enjoined the friars to study the local languages: Continue reading The Study Of Konkani
by Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas
Long, long ago, before there were stories to tell, a little Saligao boy named Jayant Salganvkar went hunting. One day in the rainy season he hunted from dawn to dusk but caught nothing except two small squirrels. Cold, hungry and weary, Jayant sat near a great rock to rest.
Suddenly he heard a deep voice say “Hello!”
“Who’s there? Who speaks?” Jayant asked with alarm. Continue reading The Storyteller
by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas
Before the Golden Jubilee of Mae de Deus Church in Saligao on 26 November 1923, a well-organised Triduum was held in the church, with religious services both in the morning and evening. After its conclusion, the parishioners of Saligao gathered at the chapel of St. Anthony in Sonarbhatt. The historical statue of Mae de Deus had been kept there overnight on 25th November 1873 before being taken to the church. From then on, this date was celebrated with recitation of the Rosary, a sung litany and a hymn of Our Lady of Mae de Deus every year. Although this prayer service did not form part of the programme of the festivities for the Golden Jubilee, it was a spontaneous gathering promoted by the people of Sonarbhatt, and other parishioners too joined them in celebration. Continue reading The Golden Jubilee of Saligao Church (1923) – II
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