Divar: The centuries old ancestral house of Fr Jacome Gonsalves stands majestically in the heart of the island, but a few residents learnt more about the great missionary’s life and work in Sri Lanka than at home.

The islanders can hardly be blamed for it. The illustrious son of Divar had left his home in 1705 to join St Joseph Vaz in Sri Lanka, as a missionary of the Congregation of Oratory of the Holy Miraculous Cross and never returned home. But he left his footprints deep in the Lankan soil and his mortal remains, too. Referred to as “father of Catholic literature in Sri Lanka”, he is also considered a founder of the Catholic faith in the island nation along with Vaz.

As calls and prayers for his sainthood are just being heard, Divar residents are looking up to the heavens with hope for a just reward for their “Ganv bhav’s” nearly 37 years of hard work in the island nation, Times of India reported.

“We did not know much about him till recently, but when we visited his tomb at St Mary’s church in Bolawatte, Sri Lanka, during our pilgrimage to attend canonization of St Vaz, we were impressed by the local people’s respect for him and his immense work,” Natty Picardo, a resident of Porbuvaddo, Divar said.

Agrees Fr Francis Pereira, assistant parish priest of Our Lady of Piety Church, Divar, “The way he has lived his life, he has already advanced one foot of his towards sainthood. He was living his faith and his call as a priest in a truly exemplary manner,” he said.

Both Vaz and Gonsalves tower over Oratorian missionaries and others in the history of Sri Lanka’s Catholic faith in reviving the local Church. The talented Divar priest took over as fourth successor to Vaz, as vicar general of Sri Lanka in January 1717, after Vaz’s death on January 16, 1711. Gonsalves wrote 22 books in Sinhala, 15 in Tamil, four in Portuguese and one in Dutch.

Pilgrims from Divar spent some poignant moments in Bolawatte, soaking in the aura of his work. “The tomb is beautifully decorated. The parish priest also showed us a holy cross, which Gonsalves used during mass. We kissed it and other people also came to kiss it and we were very happy about it,” Picardo said. The pilgrims knelt down in the church and prayed fervently for his sainthood. “We want him to become a saint like Vaz,” Picardo added.

The Goan pilgrims were pleasantly surprised that in some places he was respected even more than his guide and superior. “Some islanders there still adore him and wish he was the first one to be canonized. His works, especially the passion plays and lenten hymns composed by him are still used in liturgical celebrations. The music is said to have a distinct Goan flavour,” Pereira said.

Fr Eremito Rebello, former vice postulator for the cause of canonization of St Joseph Vaz is considering an initiative to mobilize support for the cause of sainthood for Gonsalves.

“St Joseph Vaz planted the seed of Catholic faith in Sri Lanka and Gonsalves watered and nourished it. Vaz proclaimed to the masses and Gonsalves reached out to the intellectuals and heretics,” Rebello said.

The Divar priest’s ancestral home is now a school run by the Goa archdiocese. “Gonsalves is said to have lived in the room atop,” Rebello said.