The Oratorian

On returning to Goa Fr. Vaz was received by the metropolitan Chapter and by the ecclesiastical authorities somewhat coldly and was given no particular assignment. He was once again free to preach and administer the Sacraments, but without any direct charge of souls.

During the absence of Fr. Vaz in Kanara, his father must have died, because his brother Peter had pulled down the paternal house and built a new one. On learning about it the young priest asked who would ever go and live at Sancoale. Though this at first seemed to be a rhetorical question, later on it turned out to be almost prophetic. For the house was abandoned, since the Vaz family became extinct in the male line: Peter died shortly after, and of the four grandsons of Christopher two died shortly after, and two others became priests.

While Fr. Vaz was thinking again about his plan of going to Ceylon, two Portuguese priests - Manuel das Entradas and George das Saidas - arrived in Goa to preach a mission. They soon realised that they would have very little success in their work, as they spoke only Portuguese and could not express themselves in Konkani or in the other dialects of the district. They looked for an interpreter and, having heard of the zeal of Fr. Vaz, they invited him to work with them. Fr. Joseph's acceptance of this humble and difficult task greatly facilitated and enhanced the efficacy of the work of the missioners, who could thus go from village to village in the Portuguese domain. Fr. Vaz spent many hours in the confessional, since he was the only one who could hear confessions in the local language. He organized the "Stations of the Cross", processions and other popular devotions. Moreover he was so successful in translating the ideas of the two preachers into Konkani that a great measure of the spiritual fruit reaped could be attributed to him. Another result of this missionary work was that, on returning to Goa, he composed "Meditations for the Stations of the Cross" in Konkani, and later translated them into Tamil.

When the mission was concluded Fr. Vaz still planned to go to Ceylon. He began to look for companions for this task. For he realised from his recent experiences in Kanara that one priest could do very little single-handed in that large territory, which had no priests to exercise the sacred ministry. He was also convinced that the work, which he intended to take up, should be continued and not end with him. It was necessary, therefore, to form a nucleus of collaborators on whom he could call out and on whom he could completely depend, namely to build up a religious fraternity dedicated to the missionary cause - and the more so, because the work of spreading the faith among the pagans had been until then the monopoly of European priests. On the other hand, he felt sure that none would be able to disguise themselves effectively to penetrate into Ceylon, to learn the language and get used to the people and the place, as priests belonging to a neighbouring country and almost of the same race.

This is how Father Vaz conceived the noble plan of forming a community of native priests in a missionary territory with the aim of evangelizing other countries. In the history of the Catholic missions, Fr. Vaz deserves singular merit for being the first priest who had actually gathered together an autonomous body of native clergy and to organize the first Foreign Missionary Society among his countrymen. His foresight and practical approach to an outstanding missionary problem single him out as a shining example of apostolic zeal in the annals of mission history.

While working with the Portuguese priests, Fr. Vaz learnt that a group of local priests in Goa were living under strict rules, with an ascetic way of life, and with the general approval of the diocesan authority, and that they wanted to become a regularly constituted community. This religious family, which was still without a name, attracted his attention and he wanted to join it with the hope that through it he might be able to make his apostolic dream come true.

He went to meet these three priests and a subdeacon who had voluntarily come together to lead a common religious life. Fr. Paschal da Costa Jeremias, who hoped to deepen their spiritual outlook and quicken their zeal, initiated them into such a life. Here was a departure from the traditional western pattern of life in religion and it was in keeping with the local surroundings and traditions. Until then no attempt had been made to recruit young men for the religious life as the different religious bodies that came to Goa from the West envisaged it. On the 28th of October 1682, Fr. da Costa Jeremias, having gathered around him two other priests and a young subdeacon, housed them in a very miserable hermitage, which was near the Chapel of St. John of the Desert in the district of Batim. But this first attempt was threatened with failure, because the two companions very soon left their founder; two more priests - Fr. Custodio Leitao and Fr. Bernardo Coutinho - joined him so that his hopes of founding an indigenous religious congregation of priests revived. But misfortune dogged his footsteps; due to the heavy rains, in 1684 the Chapel that had been badly built collapsed. His three companions went back to Goa and organized their life within the precincts of the Church of the Holy Cross of Miracles on the hill of Boa Vista: this was on the 14th March 1684.

The three priests began to lead a regular community life but none of the local clergy joined them. On the 25th of September Fr. Vaz asked to join them. He was welcomed and at once distinguished himself for his zeal and piety, so that Fr. da Costa Jeremias proposed that he should most certainly be made their superior. They accepted him with enthusiasm.

A new problem now arose: that of giving spiritual and juridical form to this community, which then seemed to be doing well. The new superior and his five companions prayed and discussed matters at great length; then they decided to adopt the rules of an institute which was held in high esteem in Portugal and which was giving the Church men famous for piety and learning - the Oratory of St. Philip Neri.

On the 9th of January 1686 a letter was written to Fr. Bartolomeo de Quental, Founder of the Oratory in Lisbon, requesting him to send to Goa the constitution of the Congregation with relevant directions.

What could have been the motive, which induced Fr. Vaz and his companions to choose the Oratory of St. Philip Neri? A study of the spirit of the Oratory provides us with the answer.

The Oratory of St. Philip Neri is typical among all the ecclesiastical institutes, because it is formed of secular priests without vows but living together; it offers to its members the possibility of enjoying all the benefits of life in a community with a generous measure of freedom. The members of the Oratory are priests who voluntarily become its subjects, knowing that they remain juridically free.

The Oratory was canonically erected in Rome in 1575, under the experienced guardianship of that great priestly soul, the Florentine of St. Philip Neri, who was proclaimed the Apostle of Rome. The Oratory was meant primarily for lay people to infuse them with the spirit of piety and zeal.

It gradually became one of the most active and efficient centres of the Catholic restoration, not only in the city of Rome, but also in Italy and in Europe.

In 1575 a number of priests joined together to support the lay Oratory; they dedicated their work to it, imparting to it their spirit, character and learning in keeping with the mind of the Founder. This group of diocesan priests, living in community and serving the lay Oratory, was called the "Congregation of the Oratory Priests". And although a programme for the development of this work was not really in Neri's mind, the objectives of the institute was widened, developed, and spread all over the Catholic countries which were desirous of infusing new life into the Church.

That is why in the century following the death of the Saint, the Houses of the Oratory grew from 10 to 100. In Portugal the Communities of St. Philip Neri and the Oratories were already six.

While the old Orders were reformed, and new ones, occasioned by the Catholic Reform, spread among those who aspired for a monastic way of life, a new field rich in opportunities opened out for diocesan priests, based on a minimum of community life, and aiming at the most varied charitable works. That explains the development of such a type of life, which is becoming more and more popular and useful. The fame of the wonderful progress of the Oratory spread from Portugal even to Goa. The work of the Portuguese Founder, Father de Quental, was also known in India; it was not strange, then, that Fr. Vaz and his companions, wanting to give a proper orientation to their way of life, adopted that of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri. In his choice he was also influenced by his spiritual director, Fr. Antonio Ventimiglia, who afterwards became Vicar Apostolic of Borneo and died a martyr for the faith.

Although the Goa Oratory had humble and poor beginnings and was not looked upon with much favour by the local ecclesiastical authorities, it soon drew the attention of everyone, particularly because of its emphasis on prayer, preaching and works of charity. Every day at fixed hours a small crowd of poor people listened attentively to the sermons, which the priests preached and benefited by their charity.

The Church of the Holy Cross of Miracles came to be well known and much frequented. The fame of the generosity of that group of priests spread throughout the district and they were invited to go to the near-by villages. Fr. Vaz took advantage of the development of this work, to conduct a series of visits to the neighbourhood. Every time he took a companion with him, whom he taught how to preach in the country and gave him an example of indefatigable generosity in pastoral work. Through such experiences he pursued his plan of training a band of missionaries, for he was haunted by his plan to widen his sphere of activity. Those members of the community who stayed at home heard confessions, taught Catechism and helped the parochial clergy.

The fruits of his work soon became apparent on several occasions. For instance, one day a woman, named Mariana Fernandez, who was suffering from a quartan fever, came to Fr. Vaz and asked for his prayers, that she might be cured; for she had heard of his great holiness. She was invited to pray and received the spiritual comfort, which Fr. Vaz knew how to give to those who came to him for help, and what is more, she recovered, though he begged her not to speak about her cure, to the no little embarrassment of the missionaries she proclaimed the miracle to everyone.

After six months of intense activity, Fr. Vaz thought that the moment had arrived for him to put into effect his great plan. So he proposed to set out on a long missionary journey "in the South" without letting his real destination be known, as the situation called for the greatest secrecy. He had really decided to go to the island of Ceylon and to remain there. He confided his plan to Fr. da Costa Jeremias, who approved of his project and remained in Goa as the director of his Community of the "Milagristas", a name derived from the church, which they served. Fr. Vaz chose as his companions Paolo de Souza, the lay Brother Stefano Sequeira and a family servant from Sancoale, a certain John. He did not tell them about his final destination, so as not to make them feel nervous and they started off barefooted, with their breviary as their only luggage. Though he paid no visit to his brother Pedro before leaving, he wrote a very affectionate letter to him, begging him to cultivate the spiritual life, the approbation of the 'Ordinary' and the blessing of his superior were his 'viaticum'. He left behind him a well-established community, which had been so well moulded, that its influence would yield fruit for a century and a half. The first part of his work was over. It was March 1686.

	Record of 150 years of work in Sri Lanka with solid foundation for enculturation - Sri Lanka
	Opening & running a Minor Seminary - Indonesia
	Mission work in St. Lawrence - Madagascar
	Heading many parishes - Goa and Mangalore
	Regular Lenten missions and retreats - Goa, Mangalore & Sri Lanka
	In charge of 3 Major Seminaries - Chorao, Rachol, Own
	Novitiate & Juniorate - Own (Goa)
	Spiritual Directors & Confessors - Sta. Monica (Goa)
	Had Hospices attached to Mother House and other main churches - Goa, Sri Lanka
	Gave a number of bishops to the church - Sri Lanka
	Introduced the practice of mental prayer - Goa, Sri Lanka
	Made use of lay apostles in evangelization through bible discussions and books - Sri Lanka

We are all aware that Fr. Joseph Vaz founded the Congregation of the Oratorians in Goa, which helped him to organize his apostolic work in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and to ensure its continuity by supplying priests from Goa. Unfortunately the order of Marques de Pombal to suppress Religious Orders in Portugal and its colonies gave a decisive blow to the indigenous Congregation, which disappeared, from Goa and Sri Lanka leaving behind only memories of the apostolic work it did in Goa and especially in Sri Lanka.

What is the Congregation of Oratorians? It is a Congregation, which brings together priests, and lay people who live together according to norms known as Constitution, which have come from St. Philip Neri who lived in the XVI century and is the founder of the Congregation.

The Oratory began as a gathering of lay people around a priest - Philip Neri, in love of God and of brothers, souls, who saw in that unusual equilibrium of prayer and recreation, familiar preaching and music, meditation and joy, an exceptional instrument to keep the souls away from sin. However, in order to perpetuate the institution, Philip Neri began to call around him some priests, initially. This small community started in the Church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini where Philip Neri was Rector. Finally they obtained a Church of their own, known as Santa Maria della Vallicella which when reconstructed came to be popularly known as 'Chiesa Nova". It is here that the Congregation of the Oratory was canonically erected in 1575.

Soon more houses were attached to this first house in Italy, Europe and in the States. They too assumed the same norms and forms of life in common, though always maintained their own autonomy. For this reason, reference is made to Congregation and not to a Congregation and, also, in this Institute there is no Generalate (General House).

The three most important characteristics of the Oratorians are: freedom, responsibility and a family like life.

Freedom: The Oratorians make no vows, though they are expected to live voluntarily the three evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty bad obedience. What the Founder wanted was that the observance of these virtues should be more spontaneous, more personal, and more responsible, without having to do it because of external juridical knot.

Responsibility: The presence of a virtue in freedom, as required above, demands a certain personal maturity, a certain equilibrium and internal sincerity, that is to say, a sense of responsibility, which is less evident in other forms of religious life; normally these have wider rules and regulations and a more detailed organization of community life, with more place for external discipline. While the Oratorians place more faith in individual spontaneity and maximum attention to the genius and inclinations of each one.

Family like life: To be a true Oratorian it is necessary that there be a sincere affection among the members, a serene atmosphere, a spirit that will make the various members conscious of being part of a single family of their choice. This explains why, once integrated in a house, no transfer takes place, but one remains in the same house. This domestic stability is necessary to persevere in the fraternal affection.

The supernatural means valued by St. Philip Neri and his disciples to live their vocation are common also to other institutes of perfection. Their originality was not in doing different things but in living "differently" - that is according to their own charisma. They always held that Christian freedom is a gift of the Holy Spirit and that only the grace of God can help us to remain faithful to our ideal and to fulfill it.

The Oratory is not just one Congregation, but there are as many Congregations of the Oratory as there are formed houses of Oratory. This is the uniqueness of Oratory, which is not organized, in a centralized juridical structure represented by a superior at the level of General, Provincial or Regional and local.

The Congregations of the Oratory have a precise juridical character being recognized by the Church among the "Societies of Apostolic Life".

But every house or Congregation maintains its autonomy in relation to all others and is directly subject to the Holy See. All Congregations have in common the Constitutions and the General Statutes; each Congregation then has its own particular statutes and own internal rules known as Directory. This defines concretely the mode of organizing the family life and the apostolate.

Internal Authority: In the Oratory, the Superior or the "Prepositus" or simply "Father" is always elected for a term, for one triennium only and is elected by the members who form the house. The main decisions of the Superior are in fact execution of the agreements reached at by the community at the General Congregation, which is formed by the members who have joined definitively and where only the members who have been in the Congregation for at least six years have the deliberate vote.

Admission and Formation of Members: Whoever wants to join the Congregation, after a period of stay as a guest, is admitted for one year of "First Probation" equivalent to the Novitiate of Religious. This is followed by two years of "Second Probation". These three years are spent under the guidance of a priest deputed for this purpose. At the end comes the joining in the Congregation: one is an Oratorian for all purposes. However, the right to vote in the General Congregation is given only after six years. The aspirants live with other members right from the first day so that the member lives in a family spirit and in fraternal love with those in the community.

With his avowed hostility towards the Milagristas' endeavor to establish the Oratory in Goa, Archbishop Anunciação would never have bargained for a sympathy wave in their favour. The legitimacy of their cause, Bl. Joseph Vaz's heroic apostolate in Dutch dominated Ceylon and the halo of spirituality surrounding them in their ministrations in Goa, had not only Goans but the white ruling class rallied to support them in their hour of crisis.

It would have been one such unedifying scenario in Goa where the Archbishop and his small coterie, were finding themselves isolated from the flock, because they could not perceive the wave in favour of the Milagristas. Whereas Goans could be trifled with and their resentment ignored, reaction from the Portuguese segment was all but mute and ineffective. The intervention of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Good Success was visible through one of its leading members Manoel Leitão de Andrade, member of the apex Council of State, Knight of the Order of Christ, tanadar-mór of Tissuadi, whose munificence led him to bequeath a property at Mercês to the Congregation (vide Oriente Português, No. 12-13, 1936 pg. 190) and whose closeness to the Milagristas was testified by himself (Costa Nunes, Documentação pg. 197-198).

The climax of the wave would have been, to the Archbishop's discomfiture, when the powerful white dominated Senate of Goa joined the fray, by espousing the Milagristas' cause for establishment of the Oratory. Having perhaps failed to mollify the Primate, the Senate did not hesitate to use their privilege of taking up the matter directly with the King. Hence the Senate's representation of December 2, 1693 (Costa Nunes, ibid pg. 57-59) which extols the advantages that mission work would derive from the Milagristas' zeal for spread and consolidation of the Faith. They deserved full support, the Senate pleaded, to the effect that confirmation of their draft Statutes, framed on Fr. Bartolomeu Quental's pattern, be sought from the Holy See, through the good offices of the Crown. This was exactly what, as explained in an earlier article, Fr. Quental had attempted to achieve, through the Junta das Missões of Lisbon, but was derailed by entrenched vested interests.

While it is not known how the Goa Senate's move fared, it was soon to be followed up by much more authoritative support and patronage on the part of the Vice-Roy Conde de Vila Verde. The Archbishop, however, is known to have resisted even the Vice-Roy's pleas, insisting again on the three-fold objections about inconstancy, intellectual abilities and financial viability. Another fanciful and insidious objection raised was the alleged unsuitability of the Lisbon Oratory's Statutes to Goan conditions and their adaptation needed mature and protracted reflection.

The Vice-Roy may have been overawed by the Primate's rhetoric and consequently missed latter's real intentions, when approval was sought to be deferred by one more year. Actually, the Vice-Roy had manifested his eagerness to see the Oratory established during his regime, as he proposed to depute two members to Lisbon, duly recommended by himself to the King, in order to follow up the approval for confirmation by the Holy See. This version, recorded by Sebastião do Rego, in the CRONOLOGIA, is at variance with the letter of January 13, 1698 (Costa Nunes, Ibid, Pg. 135-6) whereby the Vice-Roy requested the King to order Fr. Bartolomeu Quental to send two Portuguese Oratorians to guide in the foundation of the Goan Oratory. This request met with the concurrence of the Overseas Council, as stated in their recommendation of February 10, 1699 (Costa Nunes, ibid pg. 165-166). The King, however, turned it down as unnecessary, since the Archbishop had been empowered to deal with the matter.

This was in the year 1698, seven years after Archbishop Anunciação had taken charge of Goa Archdiocese and was seized of the Milagristas' request for approval. Things may have dragged further had the Primate not called on the Vice-Roy, when the Milagristas João da Moura and Pedro Paulo were pleading their case with the latter. The prelate was drawn into the discussion and had to yield to the no-nonsense arguments of the two priests as well as to the Protector's persuasion and consented to the approval which was accorded by Provisão dated December 14, 1698. The text comes in Rego's Cronologia and was published by Costa Nunes ibid. pg. 154-157.

It may not have been casual that the much sought after Provisão of approval to the Oratory, was issued after Vice-Roy Vila Verde had handed over charge to his successor in September 1698; possibly, he may have seen it as he left Goa three months later.

The Archbishop did comply with his promise to the Vice-Roy as to the issue of the approval Provisão, but not without extracting his pound of flesh. The price that the Milagristas had to pay for the same Provisão, was to accept a travesty of Statutes that departed completely from both the Roman and Lisbon paradigms: the Primate forced down the throats of the Congregation a wholesale subjection to the Ordinary whereby it was hostage to all whims and fancies of the Ecclesiastical authority, for all time to come. The approved Statutes stipulated that during the vacancy of the Archbishopric, authority for all approvals concerning the Oratory would be vested in the first two dignitaries of the Goa Cathedral Chapter, viz. Deão and Chantre. Surprisingly, this arrangement would hold good even when an Administrator Apostolic with episcopal rank held full charge of the Archdiocese. Predictably, the Chapter on its part insisted that the powers for approvals be retained by itself as a whole and not delegated to two dignitaries. By this they did not perceive that both the Oratory and the Chapter being subject to an Administrator Apostolic, the latter could not claim any parallel jurisdiction only in the case of the Congregation of the Oratory: such was the urge to keep the Congregation emasculated and deprived of its quintessential autonomy.

The Provisão of December 14, 1698 quotes the approval of Pope Clement X to the Statutes by Brief Ex Injuncto Nobis - specially procured by Fr. Bartolomeu Quental. for his Lisbon Congregation.

As if to gain legitimacy, however, Archbishop Anunciação clarified that he had made some changes based on his experience with the natives of India (sic) and their debility (sic), a euphemism for his obsession about alleged inconstancy and ignorance of the native Goan clergy.

Ironically, the Primate was still ruling the Archdiocese of Goa to face the ignominy of seeing all his obnoxious changes deleted and disallowed in the Statutes of the Goan Oratory, thus restored to its proper status, during the reign of King John V (1706-1750). Incidentally, this king's father and predecessor Pedro II had earlier not only upheld the changes but also made them a sine qua non condition for the confirmation accorded by him (Costa Nunes ibid 240-241). The Junta das Missões of Lisbon concurred with the King's view, in its meeting of March 21, 1703, reiterating firmly that the validity of the confirmation be strictly conditioned to the Archbishop's restrictive stipulations.

Understandably, Sebastião do Rego terms this insistence on the Archbishop's changes as 'mysterious'. He, however, ventures an explanation by the 'emulation' on the part of the other religious families entrenched in Goa; they would be apprehensive that, without the restrictions imposed in the Statutes, there could be a flow of Oratorians from Goa to Lisbon and vice-versa - an unthinkable prospect in other long established Orders and a possibility that the latter would be keen to ward off. The seriousness of this insistence on the part of the strong vested interests operating in Lisbon at the Royal Court level may be gauged by the manner in which they manipulated. The king himself wrote to the Prefect of the Goa Congregation of the Oratory Fr. Gabriel de Sá, his letter of March 22, 1703, intimating the confirmation of the Statutes, strictly conditioned to the clauses imposed by Arch. Anunciação (Costa Nunes, ibid. pg. 240-241). The anti-Oratorian lobby may have been jubilant with their success but their jubilation would not last too long.

In Goa, truly striking was the abiding interest that the Senate continued to take in the confirmation of the Statutes of the Goa Oratory, by the Holy See. On the very day following that of the archiepiscopal approval i.e. on December 15, 1698, a second representation was submitted to the King by the Senate, reiterating their earlier one of 1693, in the context of the said approval. It was taken up by the Overseas Council of Lisbon, presided over by the former Vice-Roy Conde de Alvor (1681-1686), by its Consulta of January 16, 1700 (Costa Nunes, ibid pg. 178-179), endorsing the Goa Senate's recommendation for confirmation of the Statutes.

Even at this stage the inveterate opponents to the establishment of the Goa Oratory, at the Royal Court in Lisbon succeeded in their evil designs; the King decided to stall the confirmation and order a re-examination of the Statutes by ecclesiastical and lay experts from the twin angle of the spiritual welfare of the Congregation and compliance with the laws, Arch. Anunciação's approval not withstanding (Costa Nunes, ibid 179).

Fr. Bartolomeu Quental died on December 22, 1698 and the Oratorian Fr. Francisco Pedroso (?-1719), the future confessor of King John V, Prepositus of the Lisbon Oratory, was looking after the interests of the Goan Congregation in Lisbon. He was the prime force behind the meeting of the Junta das Missões, referred to above: it was through his tactical foresight that the Junta accorded its approval to the Statutes approved by the Archbishop and thus ensured that the Congregation of the Oratory of Goa was a fait accompli. It proved to be a crucial step forward to end the agonizing stalemate and opened the way for further improvement, as indeed it turned out to be.

Bl. Joseph Vaz and his confrères in the Ceylon Mission, were jubilant to hear about the erection of the Congregation. By his letter of May 8, 1699 to his Superior (Costa Nunes, ibid pg. 168 ) he thanks all the Congregation's benefactors . When made aware of Conde de Vila Verde's departure, he is known to have written to him in Lisbon, thanking him for his valuable help in the erection: this is known from the ex-Vice-Roy's reply of March 21, 1703 transcribed in 'Veneravel Padre Jose Vaz " of December 1933 pg. 103.

A long night of uncertainty, frustration and humiliation, endured with fortitude, perseverance and trust in God, ended to the Milagristas, with the canonical erection of the Congregation of the Oratory of the Miraculous Cross, of Goa, even though the hurdle of pontifical confirmation was yet to be passed. It was indeed the repudiation of the Portuguese brand of white man's burden in church affairs, heralding the maturity of the Church in Goa, with the Goan Congregation of Oratory's assuming responsibility for the abandoned Ceylon mission.

Only unwarranted fatalism may have led St. Francis Xavier to claim in his letter from Cochin to St. Ignatius Loyolla, of January 12, 1549, that Christianity would survive in India until the Jesuits are in the mission field. The emergence of the Goan Congregation of the Oratory was the fittest answer to these prophets of doom and testimony of the relevance of the Apostolic tradition of evangelization at all times and places. Sri Lanka Church is its best monument.

Sanctuary of Blessed Joseph Vaz, 413 Blessed Joseph Vaz Road, P. O. Cortalim, SANCOALE - Goa - 403710-INDIA

Contact Office Tel: 00 91 832 2550263 / 2550517 e-mail: sanjovaz@blessedjosephvaz.org [www.blessedjosephvaz.org]