Goa’s first catholic saint – St Jose Vaz

21st April is the birth anniversary of Goa’s first catholic saint – St Jose Vaz.

The third of six children born to Cristóvão Vaz and Maria de Miranda, St Jose Vaz was born on 21st April 1651 at his mother’s house in Benaulim.

The Largo de Pe. Jose Vas which was once know as the Praca de Sao Pedro (Square of St. Peter), is a small garden, adjacent to the Holy Spirit Church that holds a bronze bust of St Jose Vaz, made by one of Margao’s master sculptor Constancio Fernandes.

Relatives of the saint, the Miranda family used to reside opposite the church and when St Jose Vaz visited them, he would pray before the Blessed Sacrament in the church. The citizens of Margao installed the bust in 1938 to commemorate the 287th birth anniversary of St Jose Vaz.