100-member brass band to tail carriage of St Xavier's relics

Anil Couto, the Archbishop of Delhi who will lead the congregation and 10 other Bishops including Cardinal Felipe Neri Ferrao and Goa's auxiliary bishop Simiao Purificacao Fernandes, will not be the only ones lending a slice of spiritual aura to the e-carriage taking the relics of St Francis Xavier from the Basilica of Bom Jesus to the Se Cathedral at Old Goa after the inaugural mass of the Exposition on Thursday morning.

Adding a solemn, musical touch to the once-in-10-years proceedings will be a brass band, said to comprise of a hundred musicians, which will tail the e-carriage from the start at the Basilica to when it reaches the door-step of the Se Cathedral.

The members of the band, both male and female, are from all over Goa and will be conducted by Fr Simon D'Cunha, who heads the Diocesan Commission for Sacred Music.

The band will play to the tunes of three hymns dedicated to the sixteenth century saint: 'Sam Fransisku Xaveira' by Raimund Barreto, 'Sam Fransisk Xaviera, vhoda da kunvra' by Pedro Salvador Carneiro and 'Sonvsarak Jezu diat' by the Fr Vasco Rego, SJ.