The 5-foot statue of St Francis Xavier at the St Paul Church in Thamesmead, South East London.
THE GOAN NETWORK | LONDON
When a Goan nurse decided to bring a 5-foot statue of St Francis Xavier from Goa and offer it to St Paul Church in Thamesmead, South East London in 2019, it was the start of her desire to offer large-sized statues to spread fervour among the Catholic community in London.
Veronica Catherine Barreto has brought three large statues from Goa and while two of them have been gifted to parishes, a third has been offered to the Goan Chaplaincy UK.
Asked about her desire to donate the large statues, Barreto said the churches in her area did not have large statues of saints.
Veronica Catherine Barreto and her family stand by the side of the statue of Ven. Agnelo de Souza.
STATUE OF ST FRANCIS XAVIER
“It all began when my dearest father, late Jose Francisco Joanes (Tambo), passed away in 2000. My dad was a tailor by profession and the tailoring community traditionally had a strong devotion to St Francis Xavier. It was the keen desire of my brother, Tony Joanes, to start celebrating the feast of St Francis Xavier in Thamesmead. I also wanted to spread this fervour among the Goan community and other communities in London,” said Barreto.
“I also had a vision of a statue of St Francis Xavier in my dream and wanted to donate a statue of our Goencho Saib as there were no large-sized statues of saints at St Paul’s Church in Thamesmead.
Barreto said the celebration of the Feast of St Francis Xavier was firstly started by her brother Anthony Joanes (Tony) and celebrated by the Goan community at the St Paul’s Church in 2000 with just a picture of the Saint.
“Then, we had a statue of 3 cms, 10 cms and finally in 2019, it was a 5-foot plus statue of St Francis Xavier from a statue maker in Old Goa,” said Barreto.
“There is a large Goan population in the catchment area of Thamesmead and the statue of St Francis Xavier is an important point of focus to bring the Goan community and other communities closer.”
For the past 21 years, the families of Anthony Jones, Paul Barreto and Vincent Fernandes have worked as a team for the feast of St Francis Xavier, which includes Mass and a get-together as appreciation of love and gratitude to the Saint.
STATUE OF ST ANTHONY
Commenting on her donation of the statue of St Anthony, Barreto said: “The decision was due to a chance meeting with two women at St David Church, Abbey Wood, London, at the altar where I had earlier offered two statues of Our Lady, one to the St David's Church and the other to St Benet's Church at Abbey Wood.”
“Two women unknown to me happened to tell me that there was no statue of St Anthony in the Church. I then purchased a 3-foot statue of St Anthony from Goa and offered it to the St David's Church.”
The statue of St Anthony at the St David Church, Abbey Wood, London.
STATUE OF VEN. AGNELO
Barreto then decided to bring a 3-foot statue of Ven. Agnelo de Souza from Goa, in fulfilment of a vow she had made some years earlier.
“However, the local priest was not aware of the life and works of this saintly son of Goa. I then decided to offer the statue to the Pilar Fathers at the Goan Chaplaincy. They were happy to accept the statue and it was blessed by Auxiliary Bishop Paul McAleenan of Westminster diocese at St Paul the Apostle Church in Wood Green-London on November 20, to mark the 95th death anniversary of Ven. Agnelo.”
The statue of Ven. Agnelo de Souza offered to the Goan Chaplaincy UK.
APPRECIATION
Barreto said she was filled with joy, love and happiness to bring large statues from Goa.
“The journey of all three statues from Goa was pleasant, stress-free. There were absolutely no questions asked at the airport, all arrived at different intervals and I am pleased that all my statues reached the UK in perfect shape.”
When contacted, Mario Furtado, who manages the over 100-year-old family-owned business ‘A P Fernandes’ of sculpting statues which is presently located opposite the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa, was full of praise for Barreto in her efforts to take his large statues to London.
“The 5-foot statue of St Francis Xavier was made of fibreglass, while the 3-foot statue of St Anthony was made of polyresin. The 3-foot statue of Ven. Agnelo was made of pure wood and it would have weighed over 15 kilos. If maintained properly, the statue of Ven. Agnelo can last for over 100 years,” said Furtado.
Summing up her spiritual journey, Barreto said: “All of this would have never been possible without the permission and support of priests Fr Patrick, Fr Lucas (Goan chaplaincy), Fr Richard (St Paul Church), Fr Michael (St David Church) and Fr Robert (St Benet Church). I Thank and praise them for allowing this to materialise and happen. I have been embraced with joy and happiness that the statues of three of our greatest intercessors are in the UK. Mission accomplished!”
