A plaque placed in the church gives its brief history. Afonso de Albuquerque (the first Portuguese Admiral who came to Goa), vowed to make this church as thanksgiving at Holy hill, as he saw standing from there his troops defeating Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijaipur in 1510.
However, the church was not built during his life time. Starting in 1544, the church took six years to complete. It's status was raised to that of a church in1543. Francisians were given the authority of this church then. It was here that St. Francis Xavier taught Catechism (basic principles of Christianity in question-and-answer form) in the evenings. He use to ring a bell and people would come there. The people of Goa have special reverence for the church due to this special connection with St. Francis Xavier. Every year, on November there is the feast day of the church. The day is marked with fetes, music bands, dances, mimicry and fashion shows.
Simple in its design, the church is an excellent example of Manueline style architecture of the early Portuguese. With windows near the roof and rounded towers, the church looks more like a fortress. The church built of laterite and plastered with line mortar has a two storeyed portico. The facade and the portico have rounded towers on either sides with cross on the top. Gothic influence is visible in the rib of the portico. The roof is tiled, supported by wooden rafters. The church is open seven days from 9 am to 5:30 pm. |
