Courtney McGrailSri Lankan Catholics are looking forward to Pope Francis’ canonisation of Blessed Joseph Vaz on January 14, but the enthusiasm and eagerness of Fr Cosme Jose Costa stands apart.
“It is Blessed Joseph Vaz’s intercession that saved my life, and I look forward with deep gratitude (to) this great event,” said Fr Costa, a 76-year-old member of the Society of Pilar based in Goa, Blessed Joseph’s home state.
Fr Costa’s 1938 birth was accepted by the Vatican as the miracle needed to beatify Blessed Vaz in 1995. Blessed Joseph, an Oratorian priest, moved to Sri Lanka in 1687 and is known as the apostle of Sri Lanka. He is credited with reviving almost single-handedly the Catholic Church there during severe persecution by Dutch colonial authorities in the 17th Century.
Fr Costa, who attended Blessed Joseph’s beatification in January 1995, will attend the canonisation in Colombo, Sri Lanka. “More than 1,000 Goans are also traveling to Sri Lanka for the same,” Fr Costa said.