The Miraculous Cross at Baradi in Velim.
Photo Credits: Wouter Hagens
Miraculous Crosses, where people, irrespective of their faith, flock for favours and to express their gratitude and for solace of mind, are spread across Goa.
The feasts of many of these Crosses are celebrated in May. The feast of the Baradi Miraculous Cross in South Goa and the Miraculous Cross in Vanxim in North Goa are celebrated on May 3.
Baradi Cross
Baradi is a scenic village in Velim, famous for the Miraculous Cross atop the hill, called the Baradi Cross. It has no canopy over it although many attempts had been made to provide one; this has proved difficult because of its location.
The cross here is very huge and is founded on a white base. It has a staircase around it that allows people to reach the top to kiss the cross, garland it with flowers, light candles, and spend a moment of two in deep prayer. As a tradition, devotees circle the cross thrice to offer their prayers.
There was also a custom prevalent then, when nearby villagers, in prayer, singing hymns and accompanied by a brass band, would make a trip on foot to the cross during the season of Lent.
According to legend, after the revolt of the Ganvkars in Assolna and Cuncolim in 1583, the government confiscated all the village property which also included lands up to Betul.
These were handed over to Don Pedro de Crasto, who in turn, passed them over to the Paulist fathers. In 1585, Velim and Betul villages were converted to Christianity. As a symbol of their victory, the Paulists erected a cross here. Much later, due to the prevalent conditions then – probably when the religious orders were suppressed in Goa – this cross was abandoned.
At the beginning of the last century, it is said that the vicar of Velim, Fr Simphriano Caetano Dias, saw in his dream the cross whose pedestal was puckered with holes and steps leading to it. He made enquiries about it in the village.
A Kunnbi from Baradi told him that there was a similar cross on the hill which, by then, would be in ruins as nobody went up there. The priest cut his way up the hill only to find the Cross lying under a thick cover of trees. He cleaned the place, and built a small chapel next to it.
Vanxim Cross
Vanxim is a small, beautiful island with mangroves on every side, in Tiswadi taluka. It has a Chapel of the Miraculous Cross which is visited every year by people who come to make or fulfill vows.
The exact date or year of the construction of the cross here is not known, but the present elders of the village remember that it was built by one villager whose ancestral house still stands in the village with a cross having the same design as the Miraculous Cross.
Since hundreds of people began flocking to Vanxim village to pray and ask for favours at the cross, the villagers decided to build a chapel there. Funds were collected both, from the village and elsewhere; however, this decision created a dilemma in which some villagers suggested breaking and rebuilding the original cross while others were against this move. Ultimately, it was the original cross that was retained.
Villagers who do not reside on the island gather on the feast day for the Mass to pay their respect, and to thank the almighty for the prayers answered and all the personal favours granted.
(The writer is former director of Thomas Stephens Konknni Kendr at Porvorim.)
