Chapel and Tomb of St. Francis Xavier

Chapel and Tomb of St. Francis Xavier is a plain chapel with only one altar and is built of laterite plastered with lime mortar, with tiled roof supported by wooden rafters.

Basilica Of BomJesus, Old Goa

Basilica Of BomJesus, is situated in Old Goa. Bom Jesus means Infant Jesus or Good Jesus. Inside the Basilica, you will see a beautiful display of architectural pieces in wood, stone, gold and granite. Immediately to the right is the altar of St. Anthony and to the left is a wooden statue of St. Francis Xavier.

 Church Of St. Francis Of Assisi, Old Goa

Church of St.Francis of Assisi situated in Old Goa is a 17th century pieces of religious art. A beautiful octagonal tabernacle richly decorated in an ornate style has two statues, one of St. Francis of Assisi and the other of Jesus on the Cross. Vows of poverty, humility and obedience of St. Francis of Assisi's are inscripted right below these two statues.

St. Cajetan Church, Old Goa

St.Cajetan Church situated in Old Goa. Equally amazing is the high vault on which are inscribed the words of Christ "My House Is A House Of The Words Of Christ".
The church has alters to dedicated to the Holy Family, Our Lady Of Piety and St.Clare and to the right are the altars dedicated to St. Agnes, St. Cajetan and St. John.

Reis Magos Church, Bardez

The Reis Magos Church or Church of the Three Magi Kings, built in AD 1555, was once a mission center of the Franciscan Order of Monks. Also in Bardez Taluka, at Saligao, amongst picturesque surroundings, stands the Church of Mae de Dens or Mother of God. The statue after whom this church was named once occupied a convent, now no longer extant, and was known for its miraculous powers. This church is a fine instance of Gothic architecture. The Church of St. Alex at Curtorim, too, dates from the 16th Century.
 
The Church of St. Anne , at Talaulin Iltias, affectionately called Santana by the people, is dedicated to the Mother of Mary. It is situated on the right bank of the Siridao River .

Church Of Mae De Deus, Saligao, Bardez

The vaulted shape of this Church makes it a thing of beauty. The Church boasts of a primitive style of Gothic architecture. To add to the serenity in its totality there are 2 lofty bells seen inside the Church tower.
            
If you take a walk in the courtyard, you will find a statue of Mae De Deus (Mother of God). The feast day of this patron Saint is celebrated on the 1st Sunday of the week and the fair remains for the entire 8 day novena before the feast day.

Shrine Of The Holy Cross, Bambolim

This huge architectural marvel is venerated by people from all walks from life and religions. To the locals it is simply called "Fullancho Khuris" meaning the "Cross of Flowers". This is because the white cross at the entrance of the Church is forever decorated by big flower garlands and candles. Many families queue up at this cross to make special intercessory prayers as it is often said by that all favors asked for a this Church are most certainly granted. On any day at the Shrine you will find scores of people making pilgrimages at the Cross. Some even offer masses and novenas for favors granted. Such great is their devotion and dedication to the Church.

Chapel Of St. Catherine, Old Goa

The façade of Se Catherine's is almost 100 feet tall. There are 15 different alters. The cathedral's center space is 250 feet long. Se Cathedral it is the largest church in Asia. The church's main altar is dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria (thus "St. Catherine’s Cathedral.") Catherine was martyred in 307 AD. Se Cathedral has eight individual chapels. The chapel of the Blessed Sacrament is filled with gold filigree work. The Chapel of the Cross of Miracles has exquisite filigree work on the screens.

Underground dungeons near the Cathedral at the Palace of the Inquisition were in use until 1774. Thousands of "cases" were tried at the Palace between 1561 and 1774. The Palace and its dungeons are now in ruins, but they are still an interesting bit of history.

Holy Spirit Church, Margao

Mary Immaculate Conception Church, Panjim

The Church of Mary Immaculate Conception is posited in Panjim. The church is said to have been in existence by 1541. However, the early church of Mary Immaculate Conception was re-built in 1619. After Panjim became the capital of Goa, the great bell of the Church of Our Lady of Grace in Old Goa (the Bell of the Inquisition) was also moved to this church from Aguada in 1841. This bell, which is now in the church of Mary Immaculate Conception is reputed for being the world’s 2nd largest bell.

The inside of the church of Mary Immaculate Conception is relatively simple in design. The main altar is dedicated to Mary Immaculate. There are two heavily gilded and carved alters dedicated to Jesus Crucified and to Our Lady of the Rosary lying on either side of the main one. At the side of each of these flanking alters is a marble statue, one of St Peter and one of St Paul. In the south transept of the main altar is the Chapel of St. Francis Xavier with a glass-encased statue of him. This statue was initially located in the Idalcao Palace and was moved here in 1918 when the chapel there was dismantled.

Our Lady Of Grace Church, Margao

Our Lady Of Rosary Church, Navelim

According to legend, this church was built in mud similar to the other churches in Salcete Taluka, in the year 1594 to 1598. The builders were Jesuits and it was financed by the villagers. The first parish priest of Navelim Church was a French Jesuit Fr. John Sena. (Mitras Lusitanas no Oriente).

As time passed, the church became small for the growing population. Later on, it was reconstructed with laterite stones on a larger scale by a rich Goan merchant, whose name is not given.

This merchant, according to legend , while passing through the main road running in front of the above church, received the message that he would lose a substantial amount of money in his business. As soon as he received this message, he entered the church and started praying to Our Lady of Rosary, requesting her to relieve him from this catastrophy. If his prayers were answered, he promised to reconstruct the original church, on a larger scale. As a result of his intercession to Our Lady of Rosary, he recovered not only what he had lost, but realised double the amount. He then financed the entire reconstruction, not only of the church but he also renewed the statue of our Lady of Rosary. Information on further reconstruction of Navelim church, if any, are not known.

Church Of Rachol, Margao

The original Church was dedicated to All Saints. Later on the Church was replaced by the present one and this new one is dedicated to St. Ignatius Of Loyola. If you want to experience a gush of adrenalin, you could perhaps go on a sightseeing tour through an underground pass that leads to the Rachol Fortress. Adjacent to the Rachol Church is the Seminary of Rachol which imparts religious education to all Christian missionaries. There is a also a mini-museum in the Rachol Seminary which houses some rare and beautiful pieces of religious art dating back to ancient times. The Rachol church is dedicated to Our Lady Of Snows whose feast day is celebrated on the 1st Sunday of August. However the main feast day of the Rachol Church is celebrated on Jan 1st as this day is dedicated to Bom Jesus. The fair remains for a day only.

St. Jerome Church, Mapusa

The main altar of this 407 year old Church is dedicated to Our Lady Of Miracles whose feast day is celebrated on 2nd Monday after Easter. Our Lady is greatly venerated by both Hindus and Christians. Common legend has it that a zatra (Festival) of the Hindus almost inevitably is connected with the feast of Our Lady. It seems that Our Lady is a sister to the Hindu mother of the said zatra (called Shirgaun by the locals). The fair for the feast day remains for at least 3 days.