The ancient churches of Old Goa or
Velha Goa (“Velha” means old in
Portuguese) were built in between
16th and 18th century by the Portuguese. After the Portuguese conquest, the Old Goa grew rapidly in size and reputation and eventually it attracted tourist from all over Europe. Later in 18th century under the order of viceroy, Conde do Alvor, the city was shifted to Panaji.
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Today Old Goa has become a World Heritage site and is visited by large number of tourists throughout the year.
Some of the churches of Old Goa are still in use and the others have become museum which are maintained by Archaeological Survey of India.
There were more than twenty fabulous churches in the Old Goa but today there are only ten churches which still exist in Old Goa out of which four are actually chapels.
Some of the famous churches of Goa are listed below.
Basilica of Bom Jesus
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| Basilica of Bom Jesus |
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This church is located in Old Goa which is a UNESCO world heritage site. The construction of church was completed in 1605 and it is considered to be one of the best example of Baroque architecture in Goa, India.
The church is called “Bom Jesus” which literally means ‘Good (or Holy) Jesus’ to whom it is dedicated.
The Basilica contains the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier which is kept in a silver casket. The holy relics of saint are displayed in every ten years (last held in 2014) for public viewing. Large number of devotees ( Christian and non-Christiain alike) from all over the world visit during exposition.
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| Basilica of Bom Jesus (interior) |
To know more about the Basilica of Bom Jesus and the St. Francis Xavier exposition click on the link given below:
http://bomjesus.org/
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| Se Cathedral (front view) |
SE CATHEDRAL
Se Catedral de Santa Catarina (Portuguese) which is popularly known as Se Cathedral is located in the Old Goa. To the one side of the road lies the Se Cathedral and to the other side lies the Basilica of Bom Jesus.
The Se Cathedral is the largest church in Asia which was built in the 17th century to mark the victory of Portuguese, leading to the capture of city Goa in 1510. As the day of victory happened to be the feast of Saint Catherine, the cathedral is dedicated to her.
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| Se Cathedral (side view) |
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Originally it had two towers but one of it’s tower collapsed and it was never rebuilt. The bell on the tower which is known as the “Golden Bell” is the largest bell in Goa.
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| St. Augustine’s Tower |
ST. AUGUSTIN’S TOWER
The St. Augustine church in Old Goa was built in 1602. It took 400 years to complete the construction of the church. The four storeyed church had eight chapels and four altars and four towers out of which only one towers exist till date.
Due to negligence the church got ruined and later the huge bell from the tower was removed and placed in the Church of our Lady of the Immaculate Conception situated in Panjim which can be seen and heard today.
After excavation of the site the remains of the church was made available for public viewing which attracts large number of tourists throughout the year.
CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
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| Panaji church |
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The Church of our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is also known as the Panjim Church which is located in Panjim ( Panaji ), Goa. This is the oldest church in Goa which was built in the year 1541.
The bell placed at the top of the church was moved from the St. Augustine church to the Church of our Lady of Immaculate Conception in the year 1871 which is the second largest bell in Goa.
So on your trip to Goa, do not forget to visit these famous churches.
(P.C. Amlan Mohanta)
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