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HISTORY OF SOCORRO AND ITS PARISH CHURCH
Author: Fr. Moreno De Souza, S.J., Phil Theol (Writer and Preacher)
The name of the village, as it is known now, is Socorro which is a Portuguese name; the Konkani speaking natives legitimately
call the village Sukur. I am afraid that in course of time, the name may be anglicized and becomes Succour for there is a
strong tendency now among the Catholic Goans to anglicize all the Portuguese names which were given to us by the Portuguese
missionaries. Consequently Piedade has become Pity which is a wrong translation. The most it could be is Our Lady of Piety
and not Pity. It is a pity that Catholic Goans, barring a few, have not yet entered the stream of Inculturation which is
the spirit of the present Church.
My curiosity goes out in search of the Goan or native name of the present village
of Socorro; no doubt it was a part and parcel of a bigger village so called Serula which also unfortunately received a Portuguese
name Salvador do Mundo but the good natives who love their culture and language call it Saloi.
Rui Gomes Pereira
in his book: GOA Vol.(1) Hindu Temples and Deities does not mention the village of Socorro at all, among the 38 villages of
Bardez mentioned in that book. Britona or Penha da Franca (the Church of this village was built in Virlasa or Virlusa)formed
the great village of Serula or Shirula which is a misnomer.
The parish of Socorro is the Third Rectory erected
by the Franciscans in the vast village of Serula. The Church was built in 1667 according to Mons F.X.Gomes Catao and its
cost was defrayed by the parishioners but according to Fr. A. Meersman, O.F.M. the church was erected most probably in 1668.
This means that Christianity was preached in this village long before 1668. The majority of the villagers embraced Christianity
and those who did not, fled the village to the mainland of the country, now Novas Conquistas which came under the rule of
the Portuguese only in 1763, (Ponda, Sanguem, Kepem, Kankonn) and in 1788 (Divchol, Satari and Pednem).
The Church
of Socorro was rebuilt and enlarged in 1763 by the parishioners whose number must have grown by now i.e within 96 years.
This is the case of all the churches in Goa. Usually the first church - buildings were built of mud and ordinary material
as it is done even now in the Missions; as the number of Christians in a village increased, the primitive building was demolished
and a new one was erected to accomodate the growing number of converts. Many of our Goan churches standing now are the third
constructions certainly not the first.
The Parish is situated rather in the interior in Zoshi-Vaddo away from
the main artery of communication which passes through Porvori. From Baixo de Porvorim, a tarred road passing through a hill
at Araddi, leads the traveller to the Church of Socorro. It was a dusty road, some years back, and the people were afraid
to cross the hill which was cut forming a sort of open tunnel where even during day time rays of light did not easily reach;
that tunnel was haunted by robbers who attacked the travellers. Now the tunnel is deepened to reduce the climb and broadened
on the top so that more light can enter.
The Church has four altars, one of which is dedicated to St., Francis
of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan Order (1182-1226). This altar is situated at the left side as you enter the church.
To the right side is the altar dedicated to Saint Sebastian, a soldier saint who is found practically in all the Catholic
villages of Goa. The saint's feast is celebrated with great solemnity, on 20th January by different Vaddes which go in this
order Zoshi Vaddo, Maina, Ambirna, Araddi, Porvorim(Baixo), Kharrem, Vaddem and Alto de Porvorim. This last vaddo was added
some 65 to 70 years back when some houses were built on the hill of Alto de Porvori and a new vaddo was formed. To save new
families, a chapel dedicated to the Sacred Family was built according to Mons. F.X. Gomes Catao, in recent times. This 8th
vaddo of Alto de Porvori no longer contributes to the celebration of the feast of Saint Sebastian for it has become now part
of a new parish of Sacred Family, Alto de Porvorim.
The feast in honour of Our Lady of Help (Socorro) is always
celebrated on the 21st of November. The main altar is dedicated to Our Lady of Socorro. The throne of this altar with its
niches and the pulpit came from the Convent of Cruz Milagres, now at Old Goa. The fourth altar below is dedicated to Our Lady
of Sorrows or to the Sacred Heart.
In the church yard there stands a Monument of Christ the King, built in 1939.
Since Socorro has no communidade of its own, the feast of Novem or Novidades (the ears of rice - the first fruit from the
fields of Communidade) was not celebrated in this parish. Rev. Fr. Nicolau Fernandes, when he was the Parish Priest of Socorro,
introduced this feast. Socorro's communidade is that of Serula which celebrates this feast of Novem on 6th August, in front
of the Church of Salvador do Mundo, near the main road.
CHAPELS
In the Parish of Socorro at present there
exist 6 chapels:
1. Our Lady of Rosary, Kharrem.
It was founded under the invocation of Our Lady of Rosary
and Santa Anna by Fr. Agostinho do Rosario Pinto and his brother Silvestre Pinto, from Kharrem. It was blessed and erected
on 14.08.1782. It was rebuilt in 1848 and blessed on 01.01.1849.
2. Our Lady of Remedios, Vaddem.
Founded
by Fr. Jose Gomes, an Oratorian from the city of Goa (Tiswaddi), around 1737, on the property of Vall in Vaddem; the said
oratorian by his will of 20.10.1748 left some property for the maintenance and re-edification of the chapel. The said property
was afterwards bought in public auction by the forefathers of Dr. Antonio Pinto do Rosario from Porvori, in 1842.
3.
Holy Cross Chapel, Ambirna.
A small one, at Ambirna, was blessed by the acting vicar of Socorro, Fr. Vitorino Gomes
Catao on 07.12.1935.
4. Saint Sebastian Chapel, Vaddem.
Built by the pot makers of that locality.
5.
Holy Cross Chapel, Maina.
This chapel was blessed by Bacharel Fr. Joao Francisco Lobo on 15.04.1917.
6. Our
Lady of Candles of Lights (Candelaria), Baixo de Porvorim.
Not known when it was erected.
This
article is an extract from the Souvenir issued 19th December, 1991 by the Church of Our Lady of Socorro
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