45th Annual Mass for the Feast of St. Joseph Vaz and Beatification of Fr. De Souza

Sunday, January 29, 2023, 11:00 AM

Location: Cathedral of Christ the Light

The Joseph Naik Vaz Institute of the Bay Area cordially invites the Indian-Sri Lankan community and friends to our Annual Mass for the Feast of St. Joseph Vaz, Apostle of Kanara and Sri Lanka, and to pray for the beatification of Venerable Father Agnelo De Souza, SFX of Pilar, Goa.

The Mass will be celebrated at Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland at 11 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023 by Very Rev. Brandon Macadaeg, rector of the Cathedral.

St. Joseph Vaz is the first Catholic saint of Goa, formerly Portuguese India, where he was born, and of the Mangalore region in India and of the country of Sri Lanka where he worked under Dutch persecution of the Catholic faith.

Because of our present concerns over Covid and its infectious devastation, we would like to especially remember St. Joseph Vaz’ nursing care of the abandoned victims of a smallpox epidemic in the Buddhist kingdom of Kandy in Sri Lanka on 1696. At his canonization in 2015, Pope Francis said that St. Joseph Vaz’ care of all victims regardless of race, creed, caste or social standing was an example of the Church’s charitable work of mercy toward all.

After Mass, there will be a short Program on the life of St. Joseph Vaz and a Networking Reception where healthcare workers who have taken care of highly infectious Covid patients are invited to share their experiences. We request that those wishing to attend the Program and Networking Reception please register by emailing us at josephnaikvaz@gmail.com or text us at (510)325-1803.

Please visit our website: www.josephnaikvaz.org