Faithful throng Margao for Purumentachem Fest

This year was special because the parish's 450th year anniversary celebrations came to a close.

Panaji:  Holy Spirit Church in Margao yesterday celebrated its feast popularly known as the 'Purumentachem Fest' where people stock up on essential items including dry fish and eatables in anticipation of the monsoon.

This year was special because the parish's 450th year anniversary celebrations came to a close.

Even before the crack of dawn on Sunday morning, the faithful began thronging just as they do by the hundreds each year. Six masses, including the high mass at 9.30am, weren't enough to contain the congregation within the grand walls of the ancient edifice.

Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas of Ranchi, the main celebrant at the High Mass, praised the parishioners for keeping their faith alive, pointing out how their western counterparts are moving away from their faith.

"Every church in Goa is a living church and this is a sign of faith," he remarked.

As the faithful celebrated 450 years of the day the parish was established with its patron as the Holy Spirit, parish priest Fr Avinash Rebelo reminded that "with the Holy Spirit came unity, togetherness and the preoccupation with supporting the poor" in the church.

The feast mass concluded with a grand procession where everyone from the laity to members of the confraternity garbed in ceremonial robes, priests and Bishop Theodore participated.

Proud to belong to such a "majestic Church", Jose Maria Miranda, a parishioner and a member of the confraria and St Vincente de Paul, says it can only stand in comparison with the churches of Old Goa in its grandeur and to the church of St Anne in Talaulim in size.

The oldest conference of St Vincente de Paul in Goa began at Holy Spirit church around 1930. The church today manages at least six such conferences that help the poor.

"Most Confraria members are senior citizens as very few youth come forward to join the organization," he said, hoping that this trend will change.

Author Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas points to the prominent sterculia tree in front of the church. "The tree marks the beginning of the faith in Margao and was planted when the church was founded. The tree protects the church from lightning and also gives shade to the cross which precedes the church. The tree is very prominent in the vicinity of churches in Salcete," he said.

The day concluded with a 'parishoners' evening' complete with games, food stalls, one-man band, solo singers and housie. A week-long fair at the entrance to Margao city is a part and parcel of the feast, exciting both children and adults.

Source: Times of India