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St. Gonsalo Garcia (1556–1597) is the only Roman Catholic saint of Indian origin. The saint was from the western coastal town of Vasai, an exurb of the city of Bombay, India. The 16th century saint preached from the Bassein fort during the times when the town was under Portuguese occupation. The feast of St. Garcia has traditionally been held on the first Sunday nearest to the neap tide following Christmas in Vasai.
Early history
Gonsalo Garcia was born to Gundi Slavus Garcia — a Lusitanian Portuguese and a Canarese (resident of the Konkan coast) mother in Bassein, on February 5, 1557. Garcia was tutored by Fr. Sebastian Gonsalves, a Jesuit priest working in Vasai, in the college near Bassein fort. Garcia studied under the tutelage of the Jesuits for eight years from 1564 to 1572. Then, at the age of fifteen, Fr. Sebastian took Garcia to Japan. He soon managed to learn the language and since was an affable person; he soon became popular in the local community as a catechist. He resigned and left to Alcao to set up trade. His business prospered and branches were opened in different locales in south-east Asia.
Gonsalo's long cherished dream to be a Jesuit did not materialise and moved on to Manila in the Philippines as a lay missionary. In the Philippines, he was influenced by a Franciscan priest, Fr. Peter Baptista and soon joined the Seraphic Order as a lay brother. After working with the leprosy patients there between 1538 to 1587, he was formally ordained as a Franciscan as the Friars Minor at Manila.
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Gundisalvus Garcia - Illustrated profile.
Meta Description: [ Patron Saint Index profile of Saint Gundisalvus Garcia; illustrated ]
St. Gonsalo Garcia - Biography of the Franciscan martyr born in Vasai.
Meta Description: [ Biography of the Franciscan martyr born in Vasai ]
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