Archbishop Decrees St Francis Xavier Church as Karwar Diocese Shrine

Fr Lorens D'Silva
 
Karwar, Dec 5: The church of St Francis Xavier at Chandavar was publicly decreed as the official shrine of the Diocese of Karwar by Dr Bernard Moras, the Archbishop of Bangalore.

He was officiating at the Solemn Eucharistic celebration on Monday, December 3, the feast of St Francis Xavier, along with Bishop Derek Fernandes of Karwar, Bishop Peter Machado of Belgaum, Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo of Udupi, Bishop Robert Miranda of Gulbarga and Bishop Joseph Arumachadath of Bhadravati and more than 150 priests on the occasion of Prabhu Yesu Mahotsava organized by the diocese of Karwar.

Around 15,000 people from all over the diocese gathered to celebrate the long-awaited Prabhu Yesu Mahotsava along with the annual celebration of the feast of St Francis Xavier. The official decree declaring St Francis Xavier church as a “shrine’ signed by the bishop of Karwar was read by the chancellor. He also gave a brief history of the Chandavar Church.

It has been a popular pilgrimage centre from time immemorial and has had an eventful history.  The annual feast of St Francis Xavier has been drawing great crowds of believers and devotees of all faiths to Chandavar.

The original Church of St Francis Xavier at Chandavar is recorded to have been built in 1678 during the reign of Basappa Nayak, one of the Bednore Kings of the Keladi Nayak Dynasty. Being a great commercial centre and customs station, Chandavar was once a flourishing town with many Christians in the 17th and 18th centuries. The existing old Church, which is being preserved, was a fruit of the untiring efforts of Fr Sebastian D’Mello, a priest from Goa.

The miraculous statue of St Francis Xavier in the Church is supposed to have been brought and handed over by a fisherman from Mirjan, a neighbouring village, who found it in a river while fishing, and was blessed with favours in his family. 

In 1934, João Salvador da Veiga, the parish priest of St John the Baptist, Kumta, contemplating the difficulties of the people of North Kanara to make pilgrimage to Goa, requested the Patriarch of Goa and obtained from him a relic of St Francis Xavier, which is now preserved in the Church and exposed for veneration on the annual feast day.

Ever since, the number of pilgrims to this shrine on the annual feast day as well as throughout the year has been increasing and numerous favours received have been reported by the devotees.

As a part of the Prabhu Yesu Mahotsava, an inter-religious meet - “Sarva Dharma Sammellana” was held in the afternoon, presided over by Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bangalore.

Ramzan Darga, a well-known literary personality from Bangalore, GV Bhat, a senior  journalist from Honavar, and Fr David Prakash, the editor of Sneha Jyoti, from Chikmagalore shared their beliefs urged the people to shun the differences and live as one human family.

The children of Holy Rosary Convent School and the children from Asha Niketan, a school for the physically challenged children performed a dance during the interval and enthralled the audience.

The highlight of the daylong celebration of Prabhu Yesu Mahotsava was the sound and light presentation, presented by the artists of St Francis of Assisi Parish, Hadinbalon the life of Christ and a few glimpses from the life of St Francis Xavier.