Cardinal Ferrão Calls Religious to Teamwork, Listening, and Discernment in Jubilee Address

Goa, August 10, 2025: Archbishop Filipe Neri Cardinal Ferrão, Archbishop of Goa and Daman, urged members of the religious congregations in Goa to deepen their commitment to teamwork, listening, and discernment during the Jubilee celebrations of the Conference of Religious India (CRI) – Goa Unit, held at Padre Conceição College of Engineering, Verna.

Speaking after the Eucharistic celebration, where he released a souvenir marking the Jubilee and presented trophies for the 2025 Jubilee Cup, Cardinal Ferrão recalled the Synodal Documents of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman (2002) no. 107, noting:

“Religious have contributed immensely in different spheres of the life of the Church in Goa according to their special charisms and within their concrete possibilities towards the building up of the Kingdom of God. The Church in Goa has been a fertile ground for numerous vocations to consecrated life… Besides, the Archdiocese of Goa has welcomed many other religious congregations in recent years, largely in the underdeveloped areas of Goa.”

The Cardinal expressed his “profound gratitude” to all members of the CRI (Goa Unit), including societies of apostolic life, religious institutes, contemplatives, consecrated virgins, and members of secular institutes. He made special mention of the outgoing CRI leadership team — Sr. Flory Fernandes FMCK, Fr. Eugene D’Silva CSsR, Sr. Justina Vaz HC, and Sr. Livia Nunes SFN — for their “dedication and self-sacrifice”, and conveyed best wishes to the newly elected team: President Fr. Gabriel Fernandes OFM Cap, Vice-President Sr. Daisy JMJ, Secretary Sr. Leena Fernandes SHM, and Treasurer Br. Vinod.

Reflecting on the Church’s present moment, he observed, “We are living in challenging ecclesial times. Since 2021, responding to the clarion call of Pope Francis of revered memory and now Pope Leo, we are on the synodal journey.” He identified three urgent challenges for religious life:

• Working together – Emphasising the need to “journey together” in education, social apostolate, healthcare, and pastoral work, the Cardinal encouraged cutting across institutional boundaries to serve with “genuine team spirit”.
• Listening – He urged religious to listen deeply to God, to one another, to people of other religions, and even to “Mother Earth”. Referring to the tenth anniversary of Laudato Si’, he called for greater ecological awareness and commitment.
• Discernment – “Synodality means journeying together, listening, and discerning,” he stressed. The Archbishop invited religious to ask, “What is God wanting from us in this time of history?” and to take “creative initiatives” in evangelisation, citing promising projects in Sat’tari, Sanguem, and the mission territories of Daman, Diu, and Dadra Nagar Haveli.

“A synodal Church is essentially a missionary Church — not inward-looking, but witnessing,” he concluded. “We must learn to hold the hand of one another, journeying together in a truly collaborative spirit.”

By Bro Malvino Alfonso

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