GOA CHURCHES

Goa, Jewel of India, is studded with temples and churches, which remain as silent but forceful witnesses to the intense religious history of the diverse people who lived here. Hence a pilgrimage to Goa is a unique experience.

Church building was one of the main occupations of the early Portuguese and in fact one of Vasco da Gama's main missions for finding the sea route to India was to "seek Christians and spices".

Christianity was forced upon with religious fervor by the Portuguese during the period of the "Inquisition" with wide scale destruction of temples and this continued till the official end of the "Inquisition" in Goa in 1812. Most of Goa's churches were built on the very site of former temples. The confiscated lands of the temples were handed over to the church and the communidades. In fact, the first Hindu temple allowed to be constructed by the Portuguese in 300 years was in 1818 at Panaji.

With a significant population of Goans being Christians for many generations today, the Church is an important factor in Goa's social , cultural and religious life. For example, the contribution of the Church to education in Goa is immense.

Se Cathedral Chruch
One of the most ancient and celebrated religious buildings of Goa, this magnificent 16th century monument to the Roman Catholic rule in Goa under the Portuguese is the largest church in Asia. The Cathedral is dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria on whose feast day in 1510 Alfonso Albuquerque defeated the Muslim army and took possession of the city of Goa. Hence it is also known as St. Catherine's' Cathedral.

The Cathedral was commissioned by the Portuguese Viceroy, Redondo to be "a grandiose church worthy of the wealth, power and fame of the Portuguese who dominated the seas from the Atlantic to the Pacific". The final edifice is bigger than any of the churches in Portugal itself.

The construction of this imposing edifice began in 1562 during the reign of King Dom Sebastião (1557-78) and substantially completed by 1619. The main altars however were not finished until the year 1652. It was consecrated in 1640. The Cathedral was built for the Dominicans and paid for by the Royal Treasury out of the proceeds of the sale of the Crown's property.

The Cathedral stands to the west of the great square called Terreiro de Sabaio and has its façade turned to the east. Its beautiful courtyard is approached by a flight of steps. The building is Portuguese-Gothic in style with a Tuscan exterior and Corinthian interior. The church is 250 ft in length and 181 ft in breath. The frontispiece stands 115 ft high.

There were originally two towers, one on either side of the façade, but the one on the southern side collapsed in 1776. The exterior of the cathedral is notable for its plainness of style built in the Tuscan tradition. The loss of one bell tower, which was never rebuilt, has given the building a unique look

The Church of St. Anne at Talaulim. Ilhas
Of all the churches in Goa, the most ostentious and notable for its excellent architeture is that of St Anne. It was reconstructed by Mons Francisco do Rego with his own funds and with the constributions of some villagers. Unfortunately he could not complete the task thus the onus befell on Fr Antonio Francisco da Cunha for its completion which he did 1965. The main altar is consecrated to St Anne.

There is a belief that the main altar is pledged to this beloved Saint due to certain reasons as narrated By Fr F de Souza in his ‘Oriente Conquistado’ - In the island of Goa (Tiswadi) in the year 1577 some devotees purchased the site which came to be known as ‘Quinta de Sant Ana’ where every week the students of ‘Colegio de S Paulo’ used to indulge themselves in some leisure activities.

The priest who was residing at the local was entrusted for the conversions of the villagers of Moula and Talaulim decided to consturct a small hermitage though he failed to consecrate the same in honour of any known saint.

However a ‘Gaokar’ Bartalomeu Marchon said that he saw an old woman coming down the hill with a walking cane and a hat and claimed that the hermitage was her abode and wanted to set her residence therein.

Not knowing the name of this lady the priest propagated in the village this reported instance. On hearing about this incident, an old Brahmin lady, claimed that when she was seriously ill the same old lady appeared to her in her dreams and held her hand to rise from her stricken bed and said that her name was Anne and wnted a house in the village.

The result of this dream was her miraculous cure and subsequent conversion which precipitated the priest to avow that the glorious St Anne had to be revered in theta village as such the Church was consecreated to St Anne.

Basilica of Bom Jesus
This is the only church in Old Goa, which is not plastered on the outside, the lime plaster having been stripped off by a zealous Portuguese conservationist in 1950.

Located at Old Goa, 10 kilometres east of Panaji, the Bom Jesus Basilica is a World Heritage Monument.

The foundation stone of this remarkably large church was laid on 24 November 1594 and the church was consecrated by Fr. Alexia de Menezes, the Archbishop of Goa and Primate of India consecrated it when it was completed on 15 May 1605. In 1946 it was raised to the status of a minor Basilica.

The Order of Jesuits was suppressed in 1759 and its property confiscated by the Portuguese State. The church was, however allowed to continue services.

This magnificent edifice stands as a superb example of Baroque architecture in Goa. The church is called "Bom Jesus" meaning 'good Jesus' or 'infant Jesus' to whom it is dedicated. The façade has on it, at the top, the letters, "HIS" which are the first three letters of Jesus in Greek.

The imposing facade built out of black granite in an exquisite combination of the Doric, Corinthian and composite styles, is remarkable for its simplicity. It measures 183 ft in length,55 ft in breath, and 61 ft in height. The main altar is 54 ft high and 30 ft broad. The pillars and detail are carved from basalt which was brought from Bassein, some 300 kms away. The interior of the church is built in Mosaico-Corinthian style and is remarkable for its charming simplicity.

Reis Magos Church
The small hamlet of Reis Magos lies on banks of the Mandovi river and is home to two famous landmarks of Goa - the Reis Magos fort and the Reis Magos Church. It is also one of only three places in Goa, where the unique Feast of the Three Wise Men is held.

Reis Magos lies off the main road, which passes through the fishing and boat-building villages of Betim and Verem on the way to the more famous tourist spots of Calangute and Candolim beaches. At the Verem Bazar, a turning past a Hindu tree shrine takes the traveller to Reis Magos.

The Church, whose whitewashed gabled facade is visible from across the river in Panaji, was built in 1555. Fransiscan friars, who were in charge of missionary work for the area, took over the church and founded a small seminary here.

The church, which was built shortly after the fort above it, was dedicated to St Jerome. Historians have found evidence to support the fact that the Church was built on the ruins of an old Hindu temple. Two typical symbols of the Hindu Vijayanagar temple architecture - bas-relief lion figures can be seen on the flanks, at the start of the steps going up to the Church.

Not long after its construction, the Church and the Seminary became a well established site for learning and its prominence can be gauged from the fact that the Portuguese royal coat of arms is imprinted below the crucifix at the top of the gable. Two of Goa´s former Viceroys are actually buried here, their tombstone inscriptions in Por4tuguese and Latin still clearly legible.

One of the tombs is that of Dom Luis de Ataide, who gained fame all over the Portuguese empire for his spirited defense of the colony of Goa, when just with a force of 700 men, he managed to keep at bay 10,000 Muslim attackers supported by 2000 elephants for a period of ten long months.

Church of St. Francis of Assissi
To the west of the Se Cathedral is the former palace of the Archbishop that connects the Se Cathedral to the Convent and Church of St. Francis of Assisi. The structure is built of laterite blocks and is lime-plastered.

The church faces west and has a nave with three chapels on either side, a choir, two altars in the transept and a main altar. To the north of the main altar is a belfry and a sacristy. The convent, which forms an annexure to the church, now houses the Archaeological Museum.

The exterior of the Church is of the Tuscan Order while the main entrance is in Manuline style. The main altar is Baroque with Corinthian features. There are no aisles but only a nave, which is rib-vaulted.

The internal buttress walls, separating the chapels and supporting the gallery on top, have frescoes showing intricate floral designs.

In a niche on the façade, stands a statue of our lady of miracles brought from Jaffna in Sri Lanka. A wooden statue of St. Francis of Assisi adorns a pedestal bearing the insignia of the Franciscans. A wooden pulpit, richly carved with floral designs is to the left as one enters.

A church consecrated to the Holy Ghost was built in 1521 and was later pulled down and the present church was built on the same spot in 1661 retaining only the entrance of the earlier church.

Church of Mary Immaculate Conception
The church was one of the first to be built in Goa, certainly being there by 1541.

The early church was completely re-built from its foundations in 1619 and this was even considered, taking accountof the still negligible population of the area and the size of the new church, is a striking commentary on the religious climateof the time and the wealth available to the churches.

The interior of the church is relatively simple by the standards of the time although the backdrop to the main altar, dedicated to Mary Immaculate, is impressive enough.

However, it is the two flanking altars that catch the eye, that on the left dedicated to Jesus Crucified and that on the right to Our Lady of the Rosary.

Each is a riot of heavily gilded, deeply carved ornamentation, yet compact and controlled, a fine example of the period. At the side of each is a marble statue, one of St Peter and one of St Paul.

In the south transept to the right of the main altar is a Chapel of St. Francis Xavier, whose glass-encased statue occupies the centre of the reredos.

Church of St Paul
By the year 1827 the College and the Church were already in a pretty devastated state. This was finally completely demolished in 1829 by the Goverment except for the façade and the material was taken to Panjim to be utilized for new constructions. The remaining arch of the façade of the Church lies on the road from Old Goa to Ponda just a short distance from the Gandhi Circle, on the left side of the road among a cluster of trees.

It was started as a seminary of the Holy Faith for training young converts by two priests Diogo de Borba and Miguel Vaz who had established the Santa Fé confraternity. The construction began in November 1541 and completed on January 25, 1543, the day of feast of Conversion of St. Paul to whom the church was dedicated.

The College of St Paul was among the largest in India. Beside elementary instruction, higher education in Music, Latin, Arts and sciences was also imparted, capped with lectures in Philosophy and theology. Even the degree of Master of Arts and the Doctorate were conferred here.

In 1548, when Fr Borba passed away, the seminary was handed over to St. Francis Xavier who had recently arrived in Goa and was residing at the Hospital Real (Royal Hospital). The College of St. Paul's was the first house of the Jesuit Order in Goa. After some years, the old college buidling was demolished and the two separate buildings were constructed, Both connected to each other by a passage. Seminário de Santa Fé was for the students and the other building called Colégio de São Paulo was for the residence of the Jesuits.

In 1556, King Dom Joao III issued an ordinance by which the College was opened for secular studies. By 1568 around three thousand students from India and other parts of Asia were enrolled at the college