Goa

Goa is also surrounded by lush green paddy fields and places of worship known for its world heritage architecture grand Churches, picturesque Hindu temples. Goa has two World Heritage Sites: the Bom Jesus Basilica and a few designated convents. The Basilica holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier, the patron saint of India. Goa is also rich in flora and fauna located on the Western Ghats, which form most of eastern Goa, and it’s been internationally recognised as one of the biodiversity hotspots of the world.

The Basilica, the three story structure is built of black laterite stone and its architecture from the exterior is a combination of Corinthian, Doric and Composite style. The front façade of the Basilica in made of four elements. The lowest part is built of three elegant entrances. The second part above it has three windows matching to the three entrances. The third segment has three spherical windows and the fourth segment is a extravagantly quadrangle decorated with arabesque art.

The flooring is covered with marble and inlaid with precious stones. The interior is striking for its simplicity which is made of Mosaic-Corinthian style. The mausoleum, on the top lies in an airtight glass coffin the body of St. Francis Xavier positioned in a silver casket who died on December 3, 1552. In the year 1553, according to his wishes, his remains were transferred to Goa. It was found that the saint’s body was as fresh as the day it was buried. In  (1696), the Medicis, Cosimo III, the Grand Duke of Tuscany a devotee of the Saint gifted the embalmed body of the saint, which lies in a silver casket that was crafted by a 17th century Florentine jeweller. The Chapel is also decorated with pictures representing the life and miracles of the saint. There are many legends regarding this great saint. The body has not decomposed for centuries. Its body has healing powers and cure any illness is believed by the people of Goa, which were experienced by the erstwhile Nizam of Hyderabad when he came for the Exposition of 1878. Besides his numerous healings there are many other wonders on St. Francis life He raised 10 from the dead, gifts of tongues, predictions, calming of storm at sea and more. This miraculous phenomenon continues to attract the devout from India and overseas, lakhs of pilgrims flock to the Basilica of Bom Jesus to venerate the body of Saint Francis Xavier every ten years on the anniversary of his death.

The Church is open on Sundays from 10:30 to 18:30hrs and on weekdays from 9:00 to 18:30 hrs. The Holy Mass is held on Sundays at 8 & 9:15 hrs and weekdays at 7 & 8 hrs. And the annual nine-day novenas in preparation for the feast of St Francis Xavier on December 3, commences on November 24 every year.

The construction of the church began in 1562 under the reign of King Dom Sebastião.  The Cathedral was finally completed in 1619 and was consecrated in 1640. It was commissioned by Governor George Cabral to be enlarged in 1552 on the remains of an earlier structure. The Portuguese Viceroy Redondo commissioned the Se, or St. Catherine's' Cathedral, southwest of St. Cajetan Church. Today it stands larger than any church in Portugal,

The building is in a Portuguese- Gothic style. It has a Tuscan exterior and Corinthian interior.  The main altar is dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria, and on either side there are paintings depicting the life and martyrdom of Saint Catherine.  There is a huge gilded reredos above the main altar.

The adjoining convent has been turned in to an Archeological Museum and is open to the public daily from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm and all Masses are in Konkani

Se Cathedral is linked to the convent and the church of St. Francis of Assisi by the former place of Archbishop, which is lying on the west side of Se Cathedral. Face of the church is towards west, there is a nave surrounded by three small chapels each side, a choir, two sub altars and a main altar in center. Belfry and a sacristy is on the north of main altar, today which you see the houses of Archaeological Museum, was actually a convent, forming annexure to the church.  Exhibits at the museum include prehistoric items from a distant tribal past as also reminders of Goa Dourada, Golden Goa, also known as the 'Pearl of the Orient' or 'Rome of the East' during its heyday. It was the concentration of magnificent churches, symbol of a powerful conqueringpresence, which justified this last title. 

The St. Cajetan Church has six Baroque style gilded altars which have figures of angels dominating twisted shafts. The main altar that is dedicated to Our Lady of Divine Providence, To the left the three altars are dedicated to St. Clare, the Holy family and Our Lady of Piety whereas those to the right are dedicated to St. Agnes, St. John and St. Cajetan. Scenes from the life of St. Cajetan are depicted by the Italian school paintings on canvas on the altars.
The Church is open from: 8.30 AM to 5.30 PM

Legend has it that while construction was in progress, an elderly villager by the name of Bartholomeu Marchon, had a vision of an old lady donning a hat with a staff in hand. The old lady ambled down the neighboring hill and promulgated to Bartholomeu that the Church under construction was her home, and that it was her intent to reside there. A similar apparition was also encountered by a Brahmin lady of high social standing, who happened to be gravely ill and almost in death's clutch. The celestial apparition anointed the lady with a miraculous cure and as a token of supreme gratitude, she embraced Christianity. Word of her miraculous cure percolated down to the village priest who instantly interpreted it as a sign of divine intervention, and without further ado, consecrated the church in honour of St. Anne.

The Church of St. Lawrence

Saint Lawrence Church was a part of the Aguada fortress, water reservoir and the lighthouse.
The founding and completion of the church is recorded in contemporary inscriptions above the arch of the porch when it was completed in 1643 and attained parish status in 1688.  The façade is concealed by a big cloistered porch and has a plain triangular gable with a single round window in the center. And it has a group of buildings with a courtyard and residence and two narrow towers behind it.

The church has limited seating arrangements benches are placed inside the porch making it a convenient and pleasant place for worship. The pillars are decorated with inscriptions depicting the life incidents of St. Lawrence and his martyrdom with white bas relief plaster. Internally, the altar is dedicated to St. Lawrence. His statue is encased in a glass case beneath the baroque reredos.  St. Lawrence is known as the Patron Saint of Sailors, he is shown holding a boat in one hand. The panel vaulting is exquisitely decorated and the risers of the steps of the altar have attractive blue and white tiles.

The Church stood as a silent witness to the ups and downs in the political, military and economic history of the Portuguese in India as well as the changing fortunes of Padroado Portuguese do Oriente, later it became a Rectorate of the Franciscans and remained so for about half a century, roughly from the early 1720 to late 1760, when the Franciscans had to quit Bardez and the Diocesan secular clergy took over. The church can be seen from the opposite shore of the Mandovi river and the cemetery with its new cross on a modern concrete pedestal appears as if it has been given a place on the skyline judging by its position on the hill crest.

The festival of St. Lawrence is held each year at the end of the monsoon season, to celebrate the sand bar clearing in order to make the river navigable for ships for the next season. In olden times, the actual cutting of a rope stretched across the river symbolized the celebration of the festival. 

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception

This area was hilly and residential, surrounded by paddy fields, cocunuts groves and watery. In the year 1843 the land was developed by the Viceroy and a square of flowers (Praca de Flores) was built in front of the Church. In the year 1619 the church was re-constructed by enlarging it.

The feast of the Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception church is celebrated on 8th December in great pomp and religious fervor. During its feast this church is beautifully decorated with lights and decoration and the entire Church Square is occupied by a 3 day fete.  

From the St. Estevam Village, is the fort of Jua which was originally built to serve as an outpost to protect Ilhas from Muslim invasions.  At the top of the fort is an modern shrine dedicated to Christ the King.

The newer wing has a modern chapel with a circular Italian marble platform and a altar and stained glass windows created from stained glass from the paintings of a Goan artist created in Germany. The center piece of which depicts our lady of Pilar.

 There is also a small museum, which houses fragments of pottery and temple sculpture excavated from the site including a lion - the Kadamba symbol, Portuguese coins and a beautiful carving of Mary Magdelene done in 1733 by a Goan sculptor. There are also some palm-leaf manuscripts and a copy of the first Marathi translation of the Gospel.

Its foundation was laid in the year 1560 in between 1591 and 1675 the building was also set afire four times by some enemies of the Jesuits. This was finally completely demolished in 1829 by the Government except for the façade and the material was taken to Panjim to be utilized for new constructions. It is now in ruins and one can see only an arch in basalt stone which is the facade of the old church.

The church had the sacred relics of St. Francis Xavier preserved in a silver casket and the first public exposition of his incorrupt body after his death, which was later shifted to the Basilica of Bom Jesus. The martyrs of Cuncolim were also buried here.

The Seminary has a church built in 1576, dedicated to Saint Ignatius Loyola - the founder of the Jesuit order. Inside the church, there is a statue of Saint Constantine (the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity), on the richly carved and gilded main altarpiece. It is said that fragments of his bones, brought from Rome in 1782 are enshrined here along with a small glass vial which once contained a little amount of the Saint's blood. These relics are venerated even today in the Church of the seminary Somewhere between 1622 and 1640, the name of the College was changed to "College of St. Ignatius" (Colégio de S. Inácio). The change was to pay homage to St. Ignatius of Loyola, who had been canonized in 1622. The retable of the main altar of the Seminary Church testifies to this fact. The Seminary community still celebrates the feast of St. Ignatius, the titular of the Seminary Church, with a solemn high mass with Gregorian chant.This festivity is preceded by a novena of preparation for the locals around and a week-long Retreat (Spiritual Exercises) for the seminarians.

In 1759, the Prime Minister of Portugal, Marquis de Pombal expelled the Jesuits from Goa. Their institutions and properties were confiscated by the State. So, the College had to be shut down.  In 1762, Archbishop-Primate Dom António Taveira da Neiva Brum e Silveira, converted this abandoned College into the "Diocesan Seminary of the Good Shepherd" (Seminário do Bom Pastor) and placed it under the protection of the Infant Jesus. He entrusted to the native Oratorian Congregation of St. Philip Neri the work of priestly training. This was the first diocesan seminary erected in Asia, after the order passed by the Council of Trent (1563–1578) that all those desiring to dedicate themselves to the ecclesiastical ministry as diocesan (secular) clergy should pass through formation in a Seminary. The retable of the altar of the internal Chapel of the seminary bears an inspiring picture of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. The Church, however, continued under the invocation of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

In 1835 all religious institutes were extinguished in Portugal and in all its possessions. So from that year, the Seminary is run by the diocesan clergy and came to be simply known asSeminário de Rachol. In 1886, the Archbishop of Goa and Daman was bestowed the honorific title of Patriarch of the East Indies. Since then the seminary is known as the "Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol".

Igreja de Nossa Senhora de Piedade

According to local legend the statue in Our Lady of Mercy church was found in the mid-seventeenth century in the coast of Mozambique, when Rev Father Bento Ferreira and his group were shipwrecked off the coast. After swimming to safety they spotted the statute which was washed ashore after being dumped by Muslim pirates into the sea. In 1648 when Father Ferreira was posted to Colva he placed the statue on the altar and it soon started drawing large crowds of devotees as it granted their favours. The Menino Jesus statue is kept for public viewing in October during the annual festival called Fama ('Fame') where thousands of devotees flock to the Church. During this festive season the statue is removed from the vault.

Holy Spirit

Its architecture is built of the Baroque style and Its interior are ornately with glit crystals and stucco carved from ceiling to ground. The inside altars are dedicated to Immaculate Conception of Mary, St Peter, St. Michael etc. The feast day of the church is celebrated on June 10.

The structure faces a picturesque view of Divar and Charao islans, the Mandovi River and the surrounding forested hills. It also offers the overview of Old Goa where in 1510 Sultan Adil Shah's placed his artillery to defend the city from the Portuguese assault.

To the south side of the church of Our Lady of Compassion one can see a remnant of the illustrious Kadamba era.  A huge statue of St. Francis of Assisi and the statue of Jesus on the cross which is equally huge lies in the main altar above tabernacle. On the both side of main altars paintings are displayed on woods depicting the life of St. Francis of Assisi.

The Church of Our Lady of Miracles

In 1951, Sanguem taluka was declared as Mission and was handed over to the Pilar Fathers. Many Pilar Fathers worked hard to collect funds to build the church and some of them include Fr Assis Dias, Fr Francis Sequeira, Fr Xavier Pinto and Fr Joao Santan Sequeira.

people of Sanguem are loving and God fearing. They have a great devotion to Our Lady. Every Friday, praise and worship is conducted in the church. The church is always packed and many Hindu brothers and sisters also partake in the worship. In this place several people receive miracles of healing and peace.

In the interiors the church of St Clara has five altars, one of which is dedicated to Santa Clara. In the year 2001, the church constructed a hall for the parish and Village activities. The church is well known for its Friday's inner-healing sessions that attract huge crowds. Youth retreats held here also receive wide support. This feast of this church is celebrated on 2nd Saturday of May every year with great enthusiasm.