Indian Police Hunt For Hindu Man Who Allegedly Disrespected St. Francis Xavier

By Jonah McKeown

Police in the Indian state of Goa are on the hunt for a Hindu man who allegedly publicly disrespectedSt. Francis Xavierand disputed the saint’s title as protector of the state, leading to complaints from the state’s Christians, who deeply venerate St. Francis.

Catholic news outletUCA Newsreported that Subhash Velingkar, a former state-unit chief of the powerful Hindu group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, publicly questioned the authenticity ofthe relics of St. Francis Xavier housed in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa.

The relics are only exposed for veneration every 10 years. Thenext period of exposition and venerationis due to start on Nov. 21 and end on Jan. 5, 2025.

Velingkar reportedly said at a public meeting on Oct. 1 that a “DNA test” should be conducted on the relics to prove that the body is really that of the saint and not, as Velingkar claims, a Buddhist monk from neighboring Sri Lanka.

Describing Velingkar as a “right-wing Hindu leader,” UCA News reported that Christians in Goa filed more than a dozen complaints that Velingkar is “outraging the religious feelings and insulting religious beliefs” under provisions of the Indian penal code and have demanded Velingkar’s arrest.

“The Catholic community of Goa condemns the derogatory statements against St. Francis Xavier … We appeal to the concerned authorities to take strict necessary action,” Father Savio Fernandes, secretary of the Council for Social Justice and Peace of the Goa Archdiocese, said in a statement to UCA News.

Goa state, India’s smallest by area, is located on the country’s west coast. It was ruled by Portugal as a colony for over 400 years, until 1961. As a result of the state’s Portuguese influence, it remains one of the most Christian of all of India’s states, with a quarter of the population identifying as Christian, according to a 2011 national census.

The people of Goa have astrong devotion to St. Francis Xavier,the famed Jesuit missionary who evangelized the area beginning in 1542. He is known there as “Goencho Saib,” which means “the protector of Goa.”

The last exposition of St. Francis’ relics lasted from Nov. 22, 2014, until Jan. 4, 2015, and drew millions of pilgrims.

India has seen a surge inHindu nationalism and violence against Christiansin recent years, especially in places governed by Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’sHindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. The northeast Indian state of Manipur has seen mayhem and bloodshed amid an ethnic conflict that haskilled hundreds of Christians since last year.In addition, reports have emerged ofpersecution of Sikhs,a religious minority in the northwestern state of Punjab in India.

A group of over 300 U.S. Christian leaderssent a letter to the U.S. State Departmentin August urging the agency to put India on a watchlist of countries that have “engaged in” or tolerated “particularly severe violations of religious freedom.”

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)said in 2023that it was “alarmed by India’s increased transnational targeting of religious minorities and those advocating on their behalf.” As recently as May,a USCIRF reportincluded India among the countries with the worst religious persecution in the world.