Goa, a former Portuguese colony that now ranks as having one of the most famous beaches in India, is continuing to promote Christianity in Asia as part of its colonial legacy, according to former Archbishop Raul Gonsalves.
The 91-year-old retiree believes Jesuit missionaries, who have been based in his homeland on the subcontinent’s southwest coast since the 16th century, are still having a ripple effect across the entire continent, despite alleged attempts to “ethnically cleanse” the area of Catholics in the past. Archbishop Gonsalves said Goa has produced bishops for a number of countries due to the strong sense of faith instilled in so many families in the region.
This tiny Indian state, covered by the dioceses of Goa and Daman, has churned out some 60 bishops and cardinals for India, Pakistan and Africa, according to Father Joaquim Loiola Pereira, secretary to the current Archbishop of Goa Filipe Neri Ferrao.
Goa Diocese was created in 1533, 23 years after the Portuguese conquered the state by defeating its then Muslim ruler Ismail Adil Shah.
About 500,000 of Goa’s 1.8-million population identify as Catholic while in nearby Kerala about 5 million of its 36 million people are Catholics, and another 1 million are from other Christian denominations.
