Goa, July 12 -- With the rise of the Age of Exploration in the 1500s and the strong influence of the Catholic Church on European colonial ambitions, many ecclesiastical traditions found their way into newly colonized lands-including India. Papal decrees such as Romanus Pontifex (1455) by Pope Nicholas V and later the Padroado (Patronage Treaty) signed in 1514 with Portugal by Pope Leo X, formally gave Portugal the authority to spread Christianity across Asia. It is within this historical context that European religious customs were transplanted into Indian soil.

Many of these traditions-some still visible today in places like Bandra, Bombay and across Goa-were direct imports from Europe. These include the Good Friday burial-style process...