Goan Families Haunted by Centuries-Old Pensao Obligations

As of November 1, 2025, the centuries-old Goan custom of pensao continues to haunt local families. Pensao involves inheritors offering Masses or doing social work to ensure the original owners of properties find everlasting peace in heaven.

In one recent case, a prominent Margao-based family, once among the richest in Goa since the early-19th century, fell on hard times after their wealth was squandered. The family then made a thorough study of their properties and wrote to the Pope, seeking advice on how to obtain remission for past omissions. They subsequently donated extensively to charity and offered Masses for the dead, leading to an improvement in their fortunes.

Across Goa, villages abound with stories of haunted houses and 'pensavachem bhat', where fruit from trees in properties with pensao obligations are left to rot. Families that have inherited such properties often continue the tradition of offering Masses annually for the original owners, believing it will bring them peace and prevent any ill effects.

As one Goan resident, Shastri Rodrigues Rebelo, explains, his family has been offering 11 Masses each year for Manoel Rebelo, who gifted their house to his great-grandfather. The custom of pensao, with its deep roots in Goa's history of conversion and land donations to the Church, remains a significant part of the region's cultural fabric even today.