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Society of the Missionaries of St. Francis Xavier
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Christian Tradition Of Pilar Until Modern Day Franciscans in
Pilar a.
FRANCISCANS IN PILAR b. PILAR MONASTERY.
The name Pilar comes from the devotion to Our Lady of Pilar at Saragossa in Spain. The Franciscan Capuchios who established the Friary at Daugim and Pilar, at first belonged to the Spanish Province of Arrabida. It is said that after Christ’s Ascension to Heaven, our Blessed Mother Mary, before her Assumption into Heaven comforted St. James the Apostle, who was toiling in vain to spread the message of Christ in Spain, by appearing to him on a pillar, which is still to be seen in the Saragossa Shrine. From that day onwards St. James is said to have reaped an enormous harvest of souls. The Franciscans also built a fountain head in the inner square of the Pilar Monastery, resembling the one at Saragossa. As a substitute for the processions of Hindu and Buddhist pundits in palanquins, the Capuchios introduced the Procession of Saints during Lent in Pilar. Sixty-five life sized statues of Saints, mostly Franciscans and Dominicans were carried in procession, resembling the one held in Rome. In 1633 realizing that the place was pleasant and healthy the Capuchios opened an institute of Higher Education which was known as the University of Science, Arts and Theology. Normally the University had 26 religious on its rolls, Professors and students combined, and they were supported by the alms of the citizens. From 1613, for a century and a quarter the Pilar of the Capuchios remained the “Holy Pilar” of discipline and sacrifice. However, abuses slowly crept in. In 1727 the Archbishop of Goa, Ignatius de St. Theresa, came in conflict with Franciscans of the Mother of God Province over jurisdiction in the confessional. The Archbishop insisted on faculties, because of abuses. The Capuchios claimed that they were an exempt Order, not subject to local Ordinaries, and so, once ordained, they had jurisdiction and could exercise their ministry anywhere. The Archbishop tried to convince them, but the Provincial defiantly refused to give in. The Archbishop was thus forced to suspend them and excommunicate them and finally confine them inside their monasteries according to “Mitras Lusitanas no Oriente” of Fr. Casmiro Cristovao de Nazareth (pg 229-231). There were serious abuses of this type among the other European religious too in Goa. At the same time the Government in Portugal fell in the hands of FreeMasons. The fatal royal decree of the Suppression of all Religious Orders from Portugal in its colonies was passed on 5th August 1833. The decree came into force in Goa on 14th May 1834. The Judge of the District of Ilhas, Luis X. Correia de Graca by virtue of the Provincial Order of 10th October 1835 and as representative of the Public Treasury took possession of the Pilar Monastery and of the surrounding property. “From 1835 onwards,” says Msgr. Lucio Vas, “when perhaps the Monastery was closed down and handed over to a non-Christian of Goa Velha who rented the orchard and kept his cattle in the building… everything was a great neglect. The Monastery was turned into a stable and the orchard became a dense thicket.” The old Church of St. Andrew of Goa Velha had become weak and was abandoned by 1841. Most of the belongings of this Church were transferred to the Pilar Monastery after the Franciscans left, and remained here till 1868. The present Church of Goa Velha was constructed in 1868 and blessed in 1869. While the belongings of the Church were being shifted back, statues of Saints which were used in the penitential procession on Monday of the 5th week in Lent were also carried away from Pilar Monastery. c. THE CARMELITES IN PILAR. The Friars came to the Monastery of Pilar not earlier than 1858. On 30th June 1856 they placed a petition for the 100 Xerafine which the Santa Casa de Misericordia contributed towards the expenses of the Feast of Our Lady of Pilar and for the jono of the Communidade of Bati, which was due to St. Paschal Baylon and which had been appropriated by the Public Treasury. In the same year, Friar Sebastian das Augustias appealed to the Government to order the secretary (escrivao) of the confraternity of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception to surrender the keys which he had taken away of the Chapel, containing the statues, so that he – Friar Sebastian – might be able to hold Philosophy and Latin classes there. The last Carmelite to live in the Monastery was Friar Cirilo de Anunciacao who died on 22nd October 1887. Before this however at the request of Archbishop Dom Aires of Ornelas and by virtue of the ministerial Order of 30th April 1878, the Monastery and its grounds had been ceded to the Archbishop to serve as his summer residence. At the same time, the proceeds of the sale of the materials belonging to the Archbishop’s Palace of Panelim and its property had been made over to the Archbishop to cover the expenses incurred in the preservation, repairs and the betterment of the Monastery of Pilar. d.
SOCIETY OF MISSIONARIES OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER (SOCIETY OF PILAR)
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When Dom Rui Lourenco de Tavora was
Viceroy of Portuguese India he handed the abandoned hillock of Pilar over to the
Franciscans whose Commissary General at that time was Friar Luis de Conceicao
(1611-1614). The Shrine of Our Lady of Pilar was built here. The plan of the
Monastery was drawn by Friar Manuel Baptista of Daman and executed by Friar
Domingos dos Santos. The foundation stone laid on 17th July 1613 by Dom
Cristovao de Lisboa, the Archbishop of Goa. It was built from alms the Friars
received from the benefactors, the principal among them being Ferrao Cristovao
and Amaro de Rocha. The Friary was maintained on the generosity of the faithful.
The inmates abstained from meat, observed daily discipline and the 3 hours of
meditation with so much perfection that it came to be called “Holy Pilar.”