Legend of St Anthony and why he is celebrated across Goa – by Ketan Golatkar & Prasenjeet Dhage

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People across Goa are observing St Anthony’s Novena in the month of June. The saint who is known to help people during their challenging times came to Goa when Franciscan missionaries first built a church in Siolim in 1568, which only lasted for 32 years. In 1600, the missionaries wanted to rebuild it and planned for a new and much bigger church in a prime location which would be more central to the Christians of Siolim.
The locals and the missionaries thought this project would never materialize due to lack of funds but their destiny had other plans in store for them. At that time two Portuguese merchants were caught in a dangerous storm sailing from Portugal. They had with them a statue of St. Anthony, and vowed that if they safely made it to the port, they would build a church for St. Anthony where they landed.
 Coincidentally their ship entered the Chapora River and docked on the left bank near the village of Marna. It was here they met the Franciscan missionaries who were actively looking for funds. Having received the funds the new church was then dedicated to St. Anthony.
Devotees often pray to St Anthony to seek his help in finding stolen goods. The traditional practice of praying for St. Anthony’s help in finding lost or stolen things is traced to an incident during his lifetime that occurred in Bologna.
 According to a story , Anthony had a book of psalms that was special to him, as it contained his handwritten notes and comments. Which he used in teaching his students. A novice who had chosen to leave had taken the psalter with him.
This was the time when the printing press was not invented yet ,a book to be reproduced had to be hand copied, and thus, an item of high value. When St Anthony realized his psalter was missing, he prayed it would be found or returned, after which the thief was so moved that he not only returned the book to Anthony, but also returned to the order!
Rupesh Naik and his family  have been celebrating St. Anthony’s day for more than 300 years. Rupesh Naik a resident of Mala, Panaji speaking to Goa News Hub said “We observe St Anthony’s Novena for 12 days and the 13th day (June13) is the feast. The most striking feature of this celebration is that all the residents of Mala irrespective of their religion, caste and gender come together to actively take part in the celebration”
“Our family prayed to St Anthony in our house, then my grandfather once told my dad that why don’t we invite the community and pray to this saint, form then we have been observing saint Anthony’s Novena publicly at our house”
Although each year Naik celebrates the fest on 13th June with his family and friends this year he has decided to restrict the number due to the pandemic. “I will pray to St Anthony that he gives everyone the strength to combat this pandemic” Naik concluded.

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