A Grand Journey (O Heraldo, 18/10/2025)
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V M
Oct 19, 2025, 9:20:27 AM (7 days ago) Oct 19
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https://www.heraldgoa.in/cafe/a-church-on-a-journey-offers-insightful-history-of-the-archdiocese-of-goa/449673
Only the Pope is said to be infallible – without the possibility of error – and only when he proclaims “ex cathedra” on doctrines of faith, but the old Latin term simply implies what is conveyed with the force and authority of the highest office. And that is very much the feeling I get from A Church on a Journey: The Archdiocese of Goa and its Governors by Joaquim Loiola Pereira, the affable and scholarly priest/polyglot/powerhouse Secretary to the Archbishop of Goa and Daman. His new book is written from the inside with immense assurance, and refreshing lucidity about many defining aspects of Goan Catholicism, while also absolutely up-to-date and authoritative about its fascinating global history.
Father Loiola – as he is known to all – has built this handsome volume around excellent reproductions of the portraits of the Archbishops of Goa that adorn the magnificent palace headquarters of the archdiocese at Altinho in Panjim. He writes that “I have been living in this House for nearly three decades, in an apartment next to the majestic Throne Hall, which is adorned by an imposing Portrait Gallery of the Archbishops. My daily visual contact with the pictorial representations of these important figures of the past prompted me to seek to know more about them, and, eventually, to write a seminal biographical note about each of them, with a view to make them better known to the contemporary generation. Here, therefore, is my modest contribution to the Local Church for which I was ordained a priest 49 years ago.”
A Church on a Journey is instantly useful – and could eventually prove invaluable – because it presents the up-to-date reasonings and retrospective views of the seat of power of the Catholic Church in Goa, about which, Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão reminds us in his Foreword, “in the annals of ecclesiastical history, few regions resonate with as much spiritual significance and historical richness. Through half a millennium, this bastion of Christianity has been a cradle of faith and a crucible of cultural exchange and religious resilience.”
Cardinal Ferrão is the very first Archbishop of Goa to be elevated to the highest rank in the church (other than Pontiff) – although there have been five other Goan Cardinals in other locations – and he occupies an extraordinarily historic chair, in which regard I especially appreciate the new book’s meticulous listing of all the places which once came under its writ: the Malabar Coast, the Coromandel coast, all of South India and Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Timor, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Japan, Macau, Mozambique and all of East Africa from South Africa to Somalia, plus assorted other parts of the subcontinent like Cranganore and Daman.
Although he is not a professional historian – and takes pains to point that out – Father Loiola is admirably clear, precise and careful in his chapters about the arrival of Christianity in India and Goa, and what happened after the advent of the Estado da Índia. He does not hesitate to point out and even dwell upon topics that many (undoubtedly well-meaning) “defenders of the church” tend to avoid or – much worse – try to deny.
Here, for one important example, is an excerpt from his Note on the Tribunal of the Inquisition in Goa: “The fallout of the Goa Inquisition was that, besides devising methods for suppressing the errors of the neo-Christians, it also instilled fear among non-Christians or ‘Gentiles’. Here are some instances: Non-Christians who would induce Catholics to adopt gentile practices, such as giving offerings to Hindu deities, working on construction of Hindu temples, cultivating fields belonging to Hindus, etc, were prosecuted…Gentiles who occupied positions that could be handled by Portuguese Christians were expelled from the city. Christians could not share their homes with Gentiles and non-Christians were prohibited from living on the same street as Christians. Participation in Gentile festivals was prohibited [and] non-Christians could not pass through Christian lands when they went on yatras or pilgrimages, nor could gentiles build new places of worship. During the two and a half centuries the Inquisition existed in Goa, thousands of people were persecuted, and thousands of trials were carried out. Violations resulted in various forms of punishment, such as payment of fines, imprisonment, public flogging, banishment to Mozambique, and execution. The history of the Goa Tribunal of the Inquisition serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of religious intolerance and the abuse of power.”
When an author is mature and unstinting in confronting uncomfortable truths, their writing becomes endowed with greater credibility, and it is my opinion that is the epitome of what Father Loiola has achieved in this fine contribution to our collective knowledge – it is an eminently reliable perspective, and in many cases, an appreciable improvement on what has been easily available until now.
Only the Pope is said to be infallible – without the possibility of error – and only when he proclaims “ex cathedra” on doctrines of faith, but the old Latin term simply implies what is conveyed with the force and authority of the highest office. And that is very much the feeling I get from A Church on a Journey: The Archdiocese of Goa and its Governors by Joaquim Loiola Pereira, the affable and scholarly priest/polyglot/powerhouse Secretary to the Archbishop of Goa and Daman. His new book is written from the inside with immense assurance, and refreshing lucidity about many defining aspects of Goan Catholicism, while also absolutely up-to-date and authoritative about its fascinating global history.
Father Loiola – as he is known to all – has built this handsome volume around excellent reproductions of the portraits of the Archbishops of Goa that adorn the magnificent palace headquarters of the archdiocese at Altinho in Panjim. He writes that “I have been living in this House for nearly three decades, in an apartment next to the majestic Throne Hall, which is adorned by an imposing Portrait Gallery of the Archbishops. My daily visual contact with the pictorial representations of these important figures of the past prompted me to seek to know more about them, and, eventually, to write a seminal biographical note about each of them, with a view to make them better known to the contemporary generation. Here, therefore, is my modest contribution to the Local Church for which I was ordained a priest 49 years ago.”
A Church on a Journey is instantly useful – and could eventually prove invaluable – because it presents the up-to-date reasonings and retrospective views of the seat of power of the Catholic Church in Goa, about which, Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão reminds us in his Foreword, “in the annals of ecclesiastical history, few regions resonate with as much spiritual significance and historical richness. Through half a millennium, this bastion of Christianity has been a cradle of faith and a crucible of cultural exchange and religious resilience.”
Cardinal Ferrão is the very first Archbishop of Goa to be elevated to the highest rank in the church (other than Pontiff) – although there have been five other Goan Cardinals in other locations – and he occupies an extraordinarily historic chair, in which regard I especially appreciate the new book’s meticulous listing of all the places which once came under its writ: the Malabar Coast, the Coromandel coast, all of South India and Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Timor, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Japan, Macau, Mozambique and all of East Africa from South Africa to Somalia, plus assorted other parts of the subcontinent like Cranganore and Daman.
Although he is not a professional historian – and takes pains to point that out – Father Loiola is admirably clear, precise and careful in his chapters about the arrival of Christianity in India and Goa, and what happened after the advent of the Estado da Índia. He does not hesitate to point out and even dwell upon topics that many (undoubtedly well-meaning) “defenders of the church” tend to avoid or – much worse – try to deny.
Here, for one important example, is an excerpt from his Note on the Tribunal of the Inquisition in Goa: “The fallout of the Goa Inquisition was that, besides devising methods for suppressing the errors of the neo-Christians, it also instilled fear among non-Christians or ‘Gentiles’. Here are some instances: Non-Christians who would induce Catholics to adopt gentile practices, such as giving offerings to Hindu deities, working on construction of Hindu temples, cultivating fields belonging to Hindus, etc, were prosecuted…Gentiles who occupied positions that could be handled by Portuguese Christians were expelled from the city. Christians could not share their homes with Gentiles and non-Christians were prohibited from living on the same street as Christians. Participation in Gentile festivals was prohibited [and] non-Christians could not pass through Christian lands when they went on yatras or pilgrimages, nor could gentiles build new places of worship. During the two and a half centuries the Inquisition existed in Goa, thousands of people were persecuted, and thousands of trials were carried out. Violations resulted in various forms of punishment, such as payment of fines, imprisonment, public flogging, banishment to Mozambique, and execution. The history of the Goa Tribunal of the Inquisition serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of religious intolerance and the abuse of power.”
When an author is mature and unstinting in confronting uncomfortable truths, their writing becomes endowed with greater credibility, and it is my opinion that is the epitome of what Father Loiola has achieved in this fine contribution to our collective knowledge – it is an eminently reliable perspective, and in many cases, an appreciable improvement on what has been easily available until now.
For example, my appreciation of Bishop Francisco da Piedade Rebelo’s tenure has deepened greatly, the first Goan to helm the archdiocese after decolonization when “the winds never blew so rough.” He “took up the vicarious leadership of this Church [because the previous Portuguese Archbishop was never divested] with aplomb, bringing about notable changes” including navigating many new practices after Vatican II, pushing to found St. Xavier’s College in Mapusa, the Carmel College for Women in Nuvem, and the Nirmala Institute of Education in Panjim, and “upgrading thirty-three moribund parochial schools (Escolas Paroquias) to full-fledged, respected High Schools, thus allowing for children in villages, without any discrimination of caste or creed, to get a chance to receive school education in their own villages, instead of travelling to the city to study at more expensive schools.”
I asked Father Loiola which of all these “Governors of the Church” is his favourite, and he told me “I admire power-filled people who remain humble. The very first Archbishop of Goa, Gaspar de Leão Pereira, who died in 1576 -- and whose jurisdiction extended from South Africa to China and Japan -- asked for these words to be written on his tomb: 'Here lies Gaspar, the first Archbishop of Goa and the first of sinners.’”
I asked Father Loiola which of all these “Governors of the Church” is his favourite, and he told me “I admire power-filled people who remain humble. The very first Archbishop of Goa, Gaspar de Leão Pereira, who died in 1576 -- and whose jurisdiction extended from South Africa to China and Japan -- asked for these words to be written on his tomb: 'Here lies Gaspar, the first Archbishop of Goa and the first of sinners.’”
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