Catholics from Goa (India).

The recent funeral Mass for 12-year-old Brendon deSouza of Mississauga was significant not only as a memorial to a courageous Grade 7 student, but also for what it revealed about the closeness and cohesion of southern Ontario's Goan Catholic community.

A student at St. Edith Stein School in Mississauga, Brendon deSouza died September 13, 2002, after a long battle with leukemia. His cheerfulness and fighting spirit served as a rallying point for all those who heard of his struggle. But it was especially meaningful for southern Ontario's small but vibrant Goan Catholic community, which kept tabs on the boy's struggle through a special internet website.

The Brendon deSouza story clearly deserves its own proclamation. What also merits telling, however, is the confident role Catholics from Goa, India, exert in the Church in southern Ontario and area. "Goans" -- those southwestern Indians with the Portuguese-sounding names--comprise a tiny fraction of the one-and-a-half-million plus Catholics in the Toronto archdiocese. What they lack in sheer numbers, however, they more than make up for with spirit, activism, and an unabashed expression of faith.

Of course, not every Indian with a Portuguese name is Goan. A growing Manglorean Catholic community, originally based in Bombay, has also made inroads in southern Ontario. But whether Goan or Manglorean, south Asian Indo-Catholics are making a bold statement about traditional faith in the Toronto archdiocese.

Some might hold to the superficial view of Goans as a fun-loving, party-going crowd prone to gossip, music, dancing, sports, and long, drawn-out dinner affairs. While a few Goans might take umbrage at the stereotype, there are others who would readily admit to such a gentle caricature.

Traditional faith

But the faith element always seems close to the surface. From support and involvement with pro-life organizations, to volunteering at St. Francis Table and other charitable organizations, to a strong presence at Catholic young adult clubs, Goans generally exhibit an active faith characterized by prayer, observing the Sacraments, and a willingness to observe the "social Gospel" by an assortment of positive works.

And the spirit is not limited to the older generation. Goan students and teenagers figure prominently in church activities, as evidenced most recently with their support of World Youth Day in Toronto. As well, Goan cultural clubs have well-established youth and young adult programs.

To be sure, this effort to preserve the faith of their fathers is not without its tensions for Goans in an increasingly secularized, morally relative North American mainstream. Some Goan families, similar to traditional Catholics from all ethnic backgrounds, take pains to shield their children from the worst aspects of a society where notions of sin and morality are as easily disposed of as Madonna's latest change of persona.

India

By way of background: Goa is located on the west coast of India, some 600 kilometres south of Bombay. After more than 450 years of Portuguese rule, the area became an Indian-union territory in December, 1961. In May, 1987, Goa achieved statehood and became the Indian republic's 25th state.

Recent census figures indicate that there are about 1.3 million people living in Goa today. Of these, more than 60 per cent are of the Hindu faith, while most of the remainder is Catholic. Konkani is the native language of the area, although Portuguese, English, Marathi, and Hindi are also in use.

Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama reached the western shores of India in 1498, and was soon followed by fellow adventurers seeking to exploit the flourishing spice trade of the area. In 1510, Afonso deAlbuquerque claimed Goa as a Portuguese colony. Colonization was seen as a means of developing Goa into an international trading centre and of controlling shipping routes of East India trade with Europe. And as was typical of the European colonial period, the new masters set about evangelizing the native population to the Catholic faith.

St. Francis Xavier 

The efforts of Jesuit missionary St. Francis Xavier (1502-1552) were especially successful in Goa in the mid16th century. Although Francis Xavier actually spent only a few months in Goa, the native population developed a lasting devotion to him, and his remains are kept at the Basilica of Bom Jesus in old Goa. Says historian Manohar Malgonkar in his 1982 book Inside Goa, "For many Goans, St. Francis still lives, and is still capable of working miracles on behalf of the faithful. Be that as it may, the body of the saint ... has made of Goa a hallowed place, a centre of pilgrimage for one of the world's major faiths, the Church of Rome."

But if St. Francis is the incentive for pilgrimage, his example appears to be inspiring Goan Catholics thousands of miles from the old land. It's estimated that more than 10,000 Goans now reside in the greater Toronto area, making it one of the largest Goan communities outside India. Other cities in Canada, the U.S., and Australia have also witnessed the arrival of increasing numbers of IndoPortuguese Catholics.

Historian Malgonkar suggests that the weight of Portuguese rule, coupled with the evangelical fervour of the 16th century missionaries, eventually served to set the Goan people apart from their neighbours in India. Without putting too simple a label on the situation, it can be argued that this admixture of eastern and western cultures bestowed unique qualities on the Goan people. There's the Hindi-influenced tolerance for other beliefs, tempered by the Western imperative to care for one's family through the pursuit of education, affluence, and material success.

Yet these same circumstances also created in many Goans a sense of being somehow different from the Indian mainstream. Despite an attractive climate and an abundance of natural splendour, Goa could no longer retain all its people. Cities such as Bombay and Karachi drew the first expatriates in the mid-l9th century, but other destinations would beckon. Equipped with a facility for the English language and an understanding of Western culture, Goans were recruited by the British to work in colonies of east Africa, and later the Persian Gulf states.

This diaspora of sorts was intensified in the early 1970s for those Goans who had first settled in Uganda and neighbouring countries of east Africa. Prompted by former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's Africa-first policy, many Goans felt the full weight of state-sponsored discrimination. Some flocked to the Middle East -- particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE) -- to seek their immediate fortunes. Although the oil-rich Middle East provided abundant job opportunities, it would not be the answer to the Goan quest for stability. Government policy prohibited non-natives from obtaining citizenship and, as a result, many Goans used the UAE experience as a stepping stone to immigration to Canada, the U.S. or Australia.

Southern Ontario

Whatever paths they followed on the way to southern Ontario, few would deny that Goan Catholics have made significant contributions to the faith life of the Toronto archdiocese. Father Tom Lynch, dean of studies at St. Augustine's Seminary in Toronto, agreed that the small Goan community is having a big impact on the Church. A few have entered religious life or the seminary, but by far the greater impact has been in lay circles.

Father Lynch believes historical circumstances have instilled in most Goans a sense of togetherness and cultural pride. "Because they've been a small minority wherever they've lived, they seem to show a real cohesiveness," he says. "It could be related to their experience of not being perceived as fully Indian or fully Anglo. Whatever the case though, I think their catechetical thrust is incredibly strong, and they have really become a strong lay presence in the church and in their homes."

Suzanne Scorsone, director of communications for the Archdiocese of Toronto, also notes the influence of Goan and south Asian Catholics in southern Ontario. "Goan Catholics have played a very active and distinguished role in the Catholic community, whether in the Chancery itself, in the parishes, or in the Catholic voluntary associations and service organizations," she says. "Many Catholics with Goan roots are very much involved in territorial parishes and in service organizations which are defined by their objective and their spirituality or method of service, without specifying linguistic, sociocultural or ethnic background."

Individual Goan Catholics cite the importance of family and tradition as key reasons for their community's easy transition to life in the Toronto area and for its firm grasp on the essentials of the faith. As well, the wider community's interconnectedness serves to reinforce already strong cultural norms.

Ninette D'Souza, a teacher at Cardinal Newman Secondary in Scarborough, said the stable family situation is a major factor in keeping the faith meaningful from generation to generation. "The connection between family and community has definitely contributed to the devotion and faith expression that is common among Goans in Canada," she says. "While I was taught about this devotion and faith expression by my parents at home, it is through the Goan community, whether family or friends, that I have had this reinforced at least in part .... I find that there is just an understood expectation of faith and devotion that often exists among many Goans. Having the opportunity to interact with people who value their faith and prayer life is for me the most tangible way that community and family contribute to faith expression."

Ms. D'Souza, who is active in St. Basil's parish in Toronto, and who played a prominent role in the World Youth Day choir, suggested that for most Goans, faith is deeply imbedded in the overall attitude to life. Practices such as Sunday Mass, family prayer, observing the Sacraments, honouring patron saints, and even displaying sacred pictures are second nature in typical Goan homes.

No national parishes

Unlike some faith groups, Goans see little need for the establishment of national parishes, such as those set up for Italian, German, Filipino, Polish, Croatian or other Catholics. Part of the explanation is found in the Goans' ability to blend in despite what might be called "visible minority" features. Suzanne Scorsone confirmed that the Toronto Archdiocese has never received a request to set up a Goan national parish. "There has been no request to the Archdiocese from the Goan community for a personal parish," she says. "There is another South Asian personal parish, serving the speakers of a particular language. The Goan community, as of this point in time and for their own set of reasons, has not approached the Archdiocese to say that they feel a need for something similar."

This interest in being good neighbours appears to have spurred a strong desire to serve the local community. "Goans in their own parishes take up roles in any capacity they can," says Natasha Andrade, an official with a Toronto investment company. "This is not necessarily because of increasing numbers. For the most part, Goans are willing to volunteer their services in whatever way the Church needs help. This I believe is a result of the nature of our upbringing."

Despite their willingness to take up with others at the parish and community levels, there's little doubt Goans also enjoy opportunities to be among their own. A cursory look at the Internet, for example, reveals the extensive networking efforts of Goan Catholics, not only in the Toronto area, but throughout the world. There are websites established in most of the countries Goans have migrated to, following their departure from Africa, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates. Goan Catholics exchange news, profiles, success stories, even recipes as a means of maintaining a common identity the world over. And typically, most of these websites have links to the life of Francis Xavier and related devotional hypertext.

Cultural associations

In addition to the websites, cultural associations have sprung up in the wake of Goan wandering. Natasha Andrade, for example, serves as an executive member of the young adult wing of the Goan Overseas Association (GOA), a group founded in Toronto in 1970 to promote Goan culture and social interaction. From modest beginnings, the GOA has grown to become the hub of Goan activity in the area. It now organizes dances, festivals, sports events and other recreational and faith gatherings, to allow expatriates to keep in touch in their new homeland.

In 1988, the GOA hosted the first International Goan Convention in Toronto, which attracted more than 1,500 Indo-Portuguese from around the world. At the time, the late Cardinal Joseph Cordeiro, former Archbishop of the Karachi Archdiocese, reminded Goans that the original purpose of resettlement was for the sake of their families, and that materialism and a permissive society remain at odds with traditional faith and family living. At the time of the convention, Goa-born reporter Ben Antao quoted Cardinal Cordeiro as saying, "Material success can be an asset if you view it with the right kind of binoculars whose optical system includes the immediate vision of faith."

In many ways, the late Cardinal's metaphor about "focusing" on faith remains true of the expatriate Goan experience in Toronto and throughout the world. The ongoing tension to preserve the faith and strengthen the family in the face of modern distractions could apply to traditional believers throughout the Universal Church. But perhaps it is today's Goan community that reflects that struggle so vividly.

Says Ninette D'Souza, "The secular and permissive society here in the West and in North America is in many ways a direct threat to the cultural traditions of Goans, especially in terms of family and faith. Goan culture has always been a mixture of eastern and western. This has aided our integration and even assimilation into Canadian society, but sometimes I think we may just as easily assume the secular values too."

Certainly, Victor Carvalho, director of the Catholicland campground in Barrie, north of Toronto, is aware of this danger. Mr. Carvalho arrived in Canada from Goa in the late 1960s with dreams of material and financial success. Despite achieving these goals early on, he eventually found that North American secularism was at odds with too many aspects of the Catholic faith.

"Living faith and culture was easy in Goa and the two were interwoven into the way of life, despite the enormous Hindu influence," he tells Catholic Insight. "But only after we came to Canada, did we realize its (faith and culture's) separation. In fact, over the 35 years that we have lived here, we have observed the deterioration of Western morality--the absence and then denial of God from the culture."

Mr. Carvalho and his wife Marilyn are now attempting to live "apart" from the prevailing trend and to raise their children in a faith-centred way.

To be sure, not all Goan Catholics are prepared to follow the Carvalbo example to the same degree. Yet in many ways the Carvalhos' personal situation represents the challenges faced by the wider Goan-Canadian community. They seek to preserve a traditional, family-centred faith in the midst of a secular, permissive and, some would argue, anti-family culture. They seek some degree of accommodation with the Canadian mainstream, knowing full well that assimilation threatens long-cherished faith values.

So for all their fun-loving, tolerant and cosmopolitan ways, Goans in Canada face some interesting challenges. Will the next generation of Goan Catholics, comfortable in the ways of the West, lose focus on that faith blueprint that has guided parents and grandparents? Will the reverence for old world tradition and the emphasis on the family hold out against the tendency to spiritual lethargy? No easy answers to be sure but, at this point in the game, the "home" side appears to be winning.

Mike Mastromatteo is a former reporter and editor with The Interim and Catholic Register newspapers. He has worked in Church and pro-life media since 1984.