Portuguese minister venerates relics of St Francis Xavier

Panaji: Minister of state and foreign affairs of Portugal, Paulo Rangel, visited Old Goa on Saturday for the Exposition of the relics of St Francis Xavier.

The Portuguese delegation also comprised the advisor to the minister, Filipe Ramalho Ortigao, Ambassador of Portugal, Joao Ribeiro de Almeida, and press officer, Joana Reis.

Earlier in the day, the delegation met Goa governor P S Sreedharan Pillai at Raj Bhavan and also visited Fundacao Oriente. At Old Goa, they were taken in buggies to venerate the relics of St Francis Xavier and then to see the Basilica of Bom Jesus. Rector of the Basilica, Fr Patricio Fernandes, showed them around the Basilica, after which they visited the Museum of Christian Art.

The foreign delegation then proceeded to Sanquelim to meet chief minister Pramod Sawant. Later in the evening, they dined at the official residence of the Consul General of Portugal. It was Rangel’s first official visit to India. Prior to traveling to Goa, Rangel and India’s external affairs minister S Jaishankar held delegation-level talks reviewing the entire spectrum of bilateral ties, including trade and investment, defence, science and technology, tourism, culture, and people-to-people ties. They also noted the growing potential for collaboration in sectors such as IT, startups and innovation, renewable energy, green hydrogen, and migration and mobility of youth, skilled workers, and professionals.


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