Terror on the Divine - Part 1 : Behind the mask

Chapter - 10, A battlefield

After dropping Adyapak at the airport, we had breakfast in a nearby hotel, and, as per Chirag's wish, we left to visit to the Basilica of Bom church, which was 45 minutes away from Panaji. I was curious for a while to know what made a Hindu Brahmin plan a visit to a church. So, I asked him clearly, "Are you sure, and you want to visit a church?"

"I am interested in learning, to know about our history and mythology; moreover, I am interested to see the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier's body; it is officially allowed for public view every ten years, and this is that day," he said.

"What do you mean? The remains of the dead body are still kept?" I asked him distrustfully.

"The Basilica of Bom church is recognized by UNESCO as world heritage center, due to its unique features. This is an example of Baroque architecture in India, St. Francis Xavier is a co-founder of the 'Society of Jesus', and he had pronounced vows as one of the first seven members of 'Society of Jesus'; he died in the year 1552. St. Francis Xavier was said to have miraculous healing powers. It is said that he was considered as the greatest Roman Catholic missionary who took an active part in the establishment of Christianity in India." Saying so, he shifted his attention to driving on the road that led to the Basilica of Bom for the next 45 minutes.

The church had beautiful architecture; the church was filled with Catholics, tourists and locals to witness the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier. The human remains were well protected and were placed on a table precisely below the statue of Jesus. Visitors maintained a disciplined queue and they were happy that the church authorities provided adequate time for them to see the mortal remains; in fact, it was organized pretty well. I stood last in the queue after Chirag.

"According to the opening lines of the available document, it says that the Society of Jesus declared that 'whoever desires to serve as a soldier of God to strive especially for the defense and propagation of the faith and for the progress of souls in Christian life and doctrine' - that is the reason for calling people working under Society of Jesus as God's Soldiers," Chirag said.

Chirag wanted to share all the information that he knew about 'Society of Jesus'; moving a few steps forward, he mentioned in a whispery voice, "Ignatius of Loyola and 6 others were the students at the University of Paris - Francisco Xavier, Diego Lainez, Alfonso Salmeron, Nicolas Bobadilla, Peter Faber and Simao Rodrigues - the 6 companions of Ignatius at the University of Paris. All of them met in a crypt beneath the church, Saint Pierre de Montmartre, to pronounce the religious vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. After the meeting, they called themselves as 'Compania de Jesus' which means 'Friends in the Lord'; they called themselves as 'Friends in the Lord' as they believed that 'they were placed together by Christ'. Compania means the company, which echoes of the military, as well as discipleship. The Spanish Compania, when translated into Latin, becomes Societas, which means partner; from this, came 'Society of Jesus'." He whispered the whole explanation into my ears; the moment he ended his whisper, we were standing in front of the mortal remains St. Francis Xavier, one among the co-founders of the Society of Jesus.

It took almost 15 minutes to witness the mortal remains. After this, I straight away moved towards the car.

We entered Panaji. On the way back to Candolim, the roads were suddenly crowded and the celebrations were at a high peak. People were joyfully dancing and bursting crackers, heart-fully welcoming the new chief minister of the state. The election results had been announced a few minutes before, declaring Indrani Shardul, the first woman chief minister of the state, elected for the second consecutive time. She was a fashionable lady in her mid-40s, hailing from a poor taxi driver's family; she had reached the height of being chief minister of the state by her hard work and protest against Portuguese culture; she always attempted her best to bring Indian culture into Goa. Still, she was attempting to develop awareness about Indian culture in Goa; it was actually a difficult task for her as Goans are majorly addicted to Portuguese culture.