Mother General braved the heat and the fatigue from travelling constantly from one place to the other with a great missionary spirit. Passing by the beautiful landscape with plenty of coconut trees and rivers Mother General and Mother Assistant Marie Rose were overjoyed to pay a visit to the Basilica of ‘Bom Jesus’.
Fr. Patricous, sj warmly welcomed Mother General and generously gave his time, commenting on the Basilica constructed in Baroque style and on the elaborate gilded altar, tabernacle, the different Churches where the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier was kept before finally it was kept in the Basilica of Bom Jesus. Then, he took them from the side door to where the present sacred relics of St. Francis Xavier is, encased in a well decorated silver casket. There, Father prayed and blessed them with the reliquary (a toe of St. Francis Xavier). Mother General was glad to see the rich art and sculpture and to read the script in Portuguese in many places and on the tombs in the Basilica. In one place, an employee was happy to note down as Mother General translated what was carved on the drawers of a large table. Then Father gave some souvenirs as they left to visit the Cathedral on the other side of the road.
Around 4 p.m., as the car reached the main entrance of our Home in Goa, the little community welcomed Mother General. Mother General and Mother Assistant Marie Rose were escorted on the red carpet by young girls, from the Association of Crusaders for Jesus with Mary, which was founded by Bro. Edmund Antao. Dressed in a very distinctive dressing style they performed the traditional ‘Kunbi’ folk dance, a heritage and cultural richness of Goans as they led Mother General and Mother Assistant Marie Rose, till the floral arch with welcome on it, in front of the house.
There, upon seeing the Residents in brightly coloured dress with flower garlands on their neck, wrist, and on their heads, one could clearly guess that the Goans are merry-making people. As they held a little card with each letter of ‘WELCOME’ on it, they sang a welcome song and also did an action song along with the young girls.
After that, Mother General and Mother Assistant Marie Rose were honoured with a shawl, garland and a bouquet of colourful fresh flowers and then they wished each Resident and entered the house.
On 21st February, before the breakfast of the Residents, Mother General was once again welcomed in the dining room. The Residents beautifully dressed with jewels and hats, offered lovely hand-made flower bouquets. Ms. Philomina, the first Resident, read a little welcome note written by herself and expressed her long desire to see the person of Mother General. Then she blessed her, gave the card, and charmed Mother General with her graceful gesture of bowing. Next, all sang a self-composed ‘Bienvenida’ in the tune of ‘Feliz navidad’. Many of the Residents who knew to speak Portuguese said a few words to Mother General, and she too was equally glad to respond to them in portuguese. Thereafter, Mother General and Mother Assistant Marie Rose distributed gifts to them. During the breakfast, one of the members of the Association of Crusaders for Jesus with Mary, suddenly appeared with a few copies of the Newspaper of the day, as an article written by Bro. Edmund Antao appeared in it, briefing on the life of St. Jeanne Jugan and announcing the presence of Mother General and an invitation for an open house event ‘Knowing the heart of St. Jeanne Jugan’ organized for the following Sunday morning.
At 4 p.m., the Holy Eucharist was presided over by Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao, the Archbishop of Goa and Daman and concelebrated by 6 other Priest Friends in the Chapel adorned with bouquets of exquisite flowers. Since the Chapel was too small, many invitees sat outside under the ‘shamiyana’ set up for the cultural programme and followed the Mass on the large T.V. screen. The choir from the Association of Crusaders for Jesus with Mary animated the mass.
Soon after the final blessing, all gathered outside in the pathway, for the blessing ceremony of the ‘foundation stone’ by His Eminence Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao. After the prayers and blessings Mother General unveiled the plaque, as all applauded loudly.
A little later, the youth from the Association of Crusaders performed an elegant prayer dance ‘You raised me up’. The next was the Catechism students from the Parish of Orlim, who wanted to display the regional and traditional life of Goans. The girls were dressed in their traditional sari with a tied knot using their 'Kunbi palloo' and the boys in white vests and coloured cotton ‘lungis’ performed a Goan folk dance. After that, Mother General was invited on the stage to address the gathering with a few words, which she did in English.
Then, it was the photo session with a few families of the Little Sisters, Friends and Benefactors of the Home who were happy to receive a souvenir from Mother General and departed with snacks boxes. As the joyful young dancers of the Association of Crusaders were about to leave, Mother General had a conversation with them and as they promised to be present for the forthcoming event organized for Sunday, Mother General asked them to pray for her. Spontaneously one of them, told the others ‘come, let us all pray one Hail Mary for Sister’. It was indeed touching to see each one holding the other’s hand and pray the Hail Mary fervently.
In the afternoon of 22nd February , the Residents and the Community gathered in the front garden along with Mother General and Mother Assistant Marie Rose, planted a Mango tree and a Chiku tree. The Residents who were present were happy and pleased to participate by filling in the hole with mud and watering them. One of them said that he would take care of them and talk to them every day. Another Resident who has difficulty in walking, stayed far away and watched all that was happening. So, a Little Sister called him and surprised everyone by walking fast and showing his enthusiasm.
As the Visit in Golden Goa continues, Mère, Mère Assistante Marie Rose, Mother Provincial Mary Clara and other Little Sisters were invited on the 23rd February at 10.30 a.m., for an open house event ‘Knowing the heart of St. Jeanne Jugan’ organized by Bro. Edmund Antao at Margao, to make known to the Goans the Saint whom he loves immensely. On arriving at the place, a big welcome board with the programme of the day was displayed. Then, Mère and Mère Assistante Marie Rose were welcomed at the gate with bouquets of flowers and escorted towards Bro. Edmund Antao to the 1st floor. There, another board with many photos of Little Sisters with the Residents from different countries was displayed. Of course, Bro. Edmund Antao’s joy knew no bounds at the presence of Mère for the event. He quickly reassured her of the programme which was to follow. Soon, Mère’s arrival was announced in the hall and Mère and the others entered the auditorium as the gathering applauded. On one side of the stage, was a big statue of Our Lady of Lourdes and on the other side was our Mother St. Jeanne Jugan, waiting to be unveiled. The huge backdrop on the stage, had the images of Christ and St. Jeanne Jugan, the photos of many Little Sisters and young girls, with the wordings “Celebrating …. her Song of silence”. The Hall was packed with many dignitaries, different Religious Sisters and a large number of the members, young and old, from the Association of Crusaders for Jesus with Mary. The youth from the ‘Crusaders’ whom Mère had met 2 days ago at our Home in Goa, performed a prayer dance. After that, Mère, Mère Assistante Marie Rose and Mère Provinciale Mary Clara were garlanded on the stage and Mère unveiled the statue of St. Jeanne Jugan. Then Bro. Edmund Antao gave a long interesting testimony and expressed his appreciation and love for our saintly Mother which was inter-twined[T1] with songs, prayers and many clippings of our Little Sisters around the world, giving witness of their vocation and manifesting their joy of following the Lord in the service of the Elderly poor. The presentation was attention-grabbing, and mainly aimed at reaching out to the youth of today, to help them discern their vocation. This was followed by a few people, who were called on the stage to express their joy and share their experience during their visits to our Homes in different parts of the world. Then, it was Mère’s turn, she began by requesting everyone to join her in praying the Hail Mary for the recovery of our Holy Father. And then, gracefully spoke on the Confidence in Divine Providence and on our call to holiness as Christians and answered some questions. Of course, Mère Assistante Marie Rose simultaneously translated perfectly well in English. Thereafter, a Little Sister spoke of her vocation and Mother Provincial said a few words before the vote of thanks. In the end, the young girls and boys were invited on to the stage to pose for a photo with Mère.
On February 24th around 4.45 p.m. the Residents gathered at the entrance to say ‘good-bye’ and ‘thank you’ which was printed in different languages on little flags. Meanwhile, the gas balloons were being knit together to make a Rosary. The Hail Mary was in yellow, the Our Father was in red and the Cross in white. All the Residents and Little Sisters held the big Rosary of balloons together with Mère and it was amazing to see it go up in the air as they let it go. After bidding ‘good-bye’ to them, the car went up to the beach to make a ‘U’ turn to go to the Railway station to take the train to Mangalore by "Vandhe Bharat".
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