St. Francis Xavier Fest Celebrated by QGA - Quebec Goan Association (Montreal)
Article written by Mrs. Lydia D'Souza, Video by Kevin Silveira
On Saturday December 3rd 2011 the feast day of Saint Francis Xavier the patron saint of Goa was celebrated by the Quebec Goan Association, Montreal Chapter. The sponsors of the feast were Noel and Annette Rodriguez and family. The event as always, started with Holy Mass celebrated by Fr. Francis McKee and assisted by Fr. Angelo Filnto. In his homily Fr. Francis Mckee emphasized that what we should take away from the life of Goa’s patron saint was the love that he had for God and Church which led him to travel under extremely difficult conditions to far away corners of the world.
The choir led by Leticia Rodrigues and Joe Fernandes sang some beautiful hymns in Konkani with our young members participating in the readings and intentions.
After Mass, the celebrations continued in the Church hall and there was an enthusiastic crowd of approximately 200 people in attendance. The social evening started with a beautiful rendition of Canada’s National Anthem in Konkani that was pre-recorded by Sharon Mozaralla for this occasion. During the evening there was a lively musical skit in Konkani presented by Antonio and Blanche DaCosta and our talented youth presented us with a colourful fashion show. Entertaining music was provided through the evening by Alain Rivard.
An Award Ceremony followed with Award Certificates presented to a number of individuals in recognition of their service to the Quebec Goan Association; notable amongst these is Mr. Felix D’Sa an outstanding life member and a past President and always a passionate supporter and contributor to the successful functioning of the Quebec Goan Association. All life members were also recognized by the Association.
The evening had an element of fun and entertainment and the event was very well organized by the hard working committee members captained by the President of QGA Mrs. Mary Silveira. Both young and old participated and enjoyed the event which was a great success.
Our thanks to all who worked hard to make this event a success and as always the Goans look forward to celebrating future feasts of Saint Francis Xavier with the Quebec Goan Association.
