The festive days are here again. Time to be joyous and wish everyone a very happy and blessed Feast of our patron, St. Sebastian. May our protector, manifest his healing prowess and heal those suffering from deadly sicknesses and viruses and always protect and save us from all evil.

Our Feast Day also coincides with the first day of Carnival. In fact, many illiterate village people still name this feast as “INTRUZ Saib-achem FEST” and attend Church services in colourful clothes to mark the occasion. The Novenas and Feast always bring back nostalgic memories of the yesteryears. Prior to being elevated to the Status of a Church in the year 2002, our chapel was under the Our Lady of Rosary Church, Navelim. The highlight of the Novena, used to be the procession on the day of ‘Fama’ which originated at Navelim and wound up at our chapel, after making it through the city roads of Margao. People residing all along the route, involved themselves and decked up the road with arches and decorations, not forgetting the fireworks. Incidentally those days, hand-made fireworks, using gun-powder (HOZNE) were generally used. The noise and the loud explosive sound caused by these fireworks, created fearful shocks to young and old alike. Presently things have changed. People have realized the effects of these fireworks on the sound & environmental problems, something to be proud of. We should all lend and support and eliminate this practice of lighting fireworks once and for all.

This is our special issue of PORMOLL, released on the occasion of our annual feast. Many of you have inserted your advertisements whilst some have toiled hard to get maximum number of advertisements from family members and friends. On behalf of the Editorial Board, I would like to express our gratitude to all of you. It means a lot to us and your help will go a long way to ensure that we encounter NO hurdles in our future journey together. As you are aware, the PORMOLL magazine comes to you, FREE of COST and this service has been managed successfully for the past nearly two decades. Credit goes to all of you for supporting this cause.

Here’s wishing one and all a very ‘HAPPY FEAST’ of St. SEBASTIAN. Through his intercession may GOD BLESS US ALL !!!

Until we meet again.

Felix Dias
Editor