By Filomena Saraswatif Giese, Joseph Naik Vaz Institute –
The commentaries on the life and death of Pope Francis have been about his life and his work. They include the statements of bishops here in California and in India and by the international Global Goenkars community. Few had a working relationship with him during his papacy except for Cardinal Gracias of Mumbai and our Joseph Naik Vaz Institute.
For example, Cardinal Felipe Neri of Goa and Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, and Archbishop Cordileone of San Francisco praised his saintly life and his caring concern for the poor and the marginalised who suffer most from economic injustice and environmental damage, and for his appeals for compassion and help to immigrants and refugees. Everyone was unanimous in praising his reforms within the Church. They referred to their meetings with the very approachable Pope, and his warmth toward all people he met. Some praised him for his efforts at inclusivity toward women, and other communities such as the LGBT community. Pope Francis showed Christ’s all-embracing love and compassion toward all.
We have a different Pope Francis story to tell: Our St. Joseph Vaz connections
First, the amazing coincidence of the day. Pope Francis died on April 21, the birthday of St. Joseph Vaz whom His Holiness canonized in 2015. He gave us Goans, Mangaloreans, and Sri Lankans — our first canonized Saint. We are honored by this mysterious coincidence of the date of his entry into eternal life and the “Communion of Saints” and the birthday of the Saint the Church calls the Son of India, and Apostle of Sri Lanka and Kanara (India).
Another Pope Francis-Vaz link to is that both had a pastoral love for refugees.
Pope Francis spoke about the need to help and support immigrants and refugees, even a few days before his death. We have this precious refugee link to Pope Francis in that he canonized Saint Joseph Vaz who came as a refugee from Dutch persecution in northern Sri Lanka to the Buddhist kingdom of Kandy. St. Joseph Vaz spent 23 years caring for and ministering to refugees in Sri Lanka, as Pope Francis has asked us to do, giving them the Eucharist, food and material help, nursing care at his clinics around Sri Lanka.
At his Canonization, Pope Francis praised St. Joseph Vaz as a model of Christian charity and what the Church herself does, taking care of those in need and those who are sick, just as St. Joseph Vaz had done during a smallpox epidemic in Kandy.
One final Vaz link to Pope Francis is my encounter with Cardinal Mario Grech, Pope Francis’ closest advisor on the Synod, just three weeks before His Holiness passed away. We met on April 4th this year at the Conference on “Synod and Mission” organised by the Jesuit Santa Clara University. I was able to tell Cardinal Grech that St. Joseph Vaz trained the laity to run his network of underground chapels and churches that he organised under Dutch persecution, just as Pope Francis wants us to do. His Indian Oratorians and this loyal Sri Lankan Catholic laity ran that persecuted Church for 146 years when they were cut off from Rome. Thus St. Joseph Vaz, his Indian missionaries, and his Sri Lankan Laity were the forerunners and models of synodal missionaries that Pope Francis was advocating for in the future Church.
I was able to send Cardinal Grech as well as to Santa Clara University, and to the Jesuit School of Theology, our heartfelt condolences on the death of Pope Francis and to say that by a beautiful spiritual coincidence, our Synodal Pope and future saint had passed into eternal life on the April 21st birthday of our Synodal Missionary Saint Joseph Vaz.
Filomena Saraswatif Giese heads Joseph Naik Vaz Institute at Berkeley, California
