Ecclesiastical province Goa and Daman Pope Francis Area 4,194 km² Phone 0832 228 5790 Cathedral Se Cathedral | Rite Latin Rite Suffragan Diocese of Sindhudurg Patron saint Joseph Vaz Metropolitan archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrão Country India | |
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Population
- Total
- Catholics (as of 2006)
1,763,598
627,400 (35.6%) Emeritus Bishops Raul Nicolau Gonsalves Archbishop Emeritus (1978-2004) Address Off National Highway 4, Old Goa Church Complex, Old Goa, 403402 Similar Basilica of Bom Jesus, Se Cathedral, Varsha Book Stall, Singbal's Book House, Church of St Cajetan | ||
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Goa and Daman (Latin: Archidioecesis Goanae et Damanensis, Portuguese: Arquidiocese de Goa e Damão) is an archdiocese encompassing the state of Goa, and the Union Territories of Daman in India. The ecclesiastical province of Goa and Daman includes the suffragan dioceses of The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sindhudurg (Dioecesis Sindhudurgiensis) which includes the districts of Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri and Kolhapur in Maharashtra state, except the St. Francis Xavier parish in Kolhapur City. The Archdiocese of Sindhudurg was created on July 5, 2005, when it was split off from the Diocese of Poona. It was a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Bombay until 25 November 2006, when Pope Benedict XVI transferred it to the newly established Metropolitan province of Goa and Damão. The archdiocese is the Primatial See of the East, and the archbishop carries the title of the Patriarch of the East Indies.In Konkani, the local Language of Goa this archdiocese is known as Goy ani Damanv Mha-Dhormprant.
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It is the oldest diocese in terms of activity in the East, with its origins linked to the arrival of the Portuguese on the Malabar Coast. The Metropolitan Archbishop of Goa and Daman also uses the title of Primate of the Indies or Primate of the East and honorifically receives the title of Patriarch of the East Indies.
The current Metropolitan Archbishop and Patriarch of the East Indies is Filipe Neri Ferrão. The Cathedral of the Archdiocese is the Se Cathedral in Old Goa and has as its co-cathedral the Our Lady of the Sea Sanctuary in Daman. Its minor basilica is the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa, Goa. Under its ecclesiastical jurisdiction lie the world heritage site of the Churches and Convents of Goa.
To show his concern towards his flock, To get connected with his people and to share the teachings of the Church, the Archbishop writes a Pastoral Letter, to the congregation and people of Good faith annually. This pastoral letter is based on a theme chosen for the year. This letter helps the faithful to strengthen their faith and live a fruitful life Throughout the year.
Territory
The archdiocese comprises the following territories in India: the State of Goa, the territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
The Archbishop's Cathedral is in the city of Old Goa, at "Se Cathedral", the Cathedral of St Catherine.
The territory is divided into 167 parishes and is served by 701 priests.
History
After the Portuguese conquest of Goa by Afonso de Albuquerque in 1510, King Manuel I built a chapel in honour of St. Catherine, named as the patron of the city in 1518. For governing Christians in the region, the charge was given to Dom Duarte Nunes, O.P., bishop-titular of Laodicea, who ruled until 1527. He was succeeded by Dom Fernando Vaqueiro, OFM, who ruled from 1529 to 1535.
John III then commissioned the construction of a cathedral in Goa and Pope Clement VII erected the Diocese of Goa on January 31, 1533, by papal Bull Romani Pontificis Circumspectio. The jurisdiction of the new diocese then stretched from the Cape of Good Hope to China and Japan. On November 3, 1534 the erection of the diocese was confirmed by the Bull Aequum reputamus of Pope Paul III, since Clement VII's death had prevented the publication of the erection. The diocese was originally a suffragan of the Diocese of Funchal.
At the request of King Sebastian, on February 4, 1557, Pope Paul IV separated the Goa Diocese from the Ecclesiastical Province of Lisbon and raised it to a metropolitan Archdiocese, with the suffragan dioceses of Cochin and Diocese of Malacca. In the course of time other dioceses were included in the metropolitan area of Goa: Macau, Funai in Japan, Cranganore and Meliapor in India, Nanjing and Beijing in China, Mozambique in Africa and Daman, the last of which is still part of it.
By the brief of December 13, 1572 Pope Gregory XIII granted the Archbishop of Goa the title of Primate of the East. In 1857, Goa had gained several suffragan dioceses in the Indian subcontinent but retained only Macau and Mozambique outside that geographical area.
On 23 January 1886, Pope Leo XIII, through the Apostolic Constitution Humanae Salutis Auctor, invested the Archbishop of Goa with the honorary title of Patriarch of the East Indies. In the same year, the Archdiocese of Cranganore, created by the breve Multa praeclare of Pope Gregory XVI on April 24, 1838, was dissolved and the title attached to the Diocese of Daman, created by the Bull Humanae salutis of Pope Leo XIII and dissolved on May 1, 1928 with the Bull Inter Apostolicam and attached to the Goa archdiocese. Since then, the archbishop came to be called by the Archbishop of Goa and Daman, also having the names of Patriarch of the East Indies and Titular Archbishop of Cranganore.
In 1940, Dili (in Timor) was elevated to diocese and placed as suffragan of Goa while Mozambique was the same year spun off from the Metropolitan Archdiocese. In 1953 the Archdiocese of Goa lost the suffragan dioceses of Cochin, Meliampor and Canara following the ecclesiastical territorial reorganization of the new Indian state.
On December 19, 1961, the Indian Union annexed the territories of Goa, Daman and Diu and the following year the Patriarch Archbishop José Vieira de Alvernaz left the territory. In 1965, the territory of Diu was entrusted to the Missionary Society of St. Francis Xavier. The complex issue of the annexation of the Portuguese-ruled territories, led the Vatican to accept only in 1975 the resignation of the last Patriarch, putting the Goa archdiocese directly subordinate to the Holy See. Dioceses of Dili and Macau were also de-linked from the ecclesiastical province and placed also directly subordinate to the Holy See.
By the Bull "Quoniam Archdioecesi" of January 30, 1978, Pope Paul VI appointed Rev. Bishop Raul Nicolau Gonçalves as Archbishop of Goa and Daman also titled "ad honorem" Patriarch of the East Indies. By the Bull "Inter Capital" of December 12, 2003, Pope John Paul II appointed the Rev. Filipe Neri Ferrao as new Archbishop of Goa and Daman granting him also the "honorary" Patriarch's title. The award of Patriarch of title is not mandatory and is a prerogative of the Pope.
The Archdiocese of Goa and Daman remained—until November 25, 2006—as just an archdiocese immediately subject to the Holy See. This was as it was headed by an archbishop who was not metropolitan, because the archdiocese had no suffragan dioceses since January 1, 1975, when the dioceses Macao and Dili were separated from it. On November 25, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI addressed this issue with the Bull Cum Christi Evangelii, to make the diocese of Sindhudurg a suffragan of Goa and Daman, which together formed a new ecclesiastical province.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Karwar: The civil district of North Kanara (Uttara Kannada) was a part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Goa and Daman till September 19, 1953 on which day the New Roman Catholic Diocese of Belgaum was erected. Two civil districts, Belgaum and North Kanara, were separated from the Archdiocese of Goa and two other civil districts, Dharwad and Bijapur, were taken from the Diocese of Poona to form the Diocese of Belgaum. The Diocese of Karwar, comprising the whole civil district of Uttara Kannada, was carved out from the Diocese of Belgaum and erected as the Diocese of Karwar by the Decree “Christi Missum” of Pope Paul VI dated January 24, 1976. The Most Rev. Dr. William Leonard D'Mello was appointed the first Bishop of Karwar by the Apostolic Bull dated January 24, 1976. He was ordained and installed as the first Bishop of Karwar on April 29, 1977.