|
 |
The Our Lady of the
Immaculate Conception Church, Panjim, Goa, which was first built in 1541
as a chapel by the Portuguese, was replaced by a larger church, as seen
now, in a wedding cake shape. The facade of the church is painted in
super white colour like a "white toothpaste" and is built in Baroque
architecture.
The church is located in Panaji with the Municipal gardens (church's
gardens) in its foreground to its south east direction. It was the
location of an old port when ships sailing from Lisbon used to make the
first call where sailors disembarked, before they proceeded further
inland in to Ela (now Old Goa), which was the capital of Goa till the
19th century. A laterite walkway and a straight line of thin palm trees
were part of the scene around the church.
|
|
Initially a chapel was built
in 1541 to cater to the spiritual needs of the sailors as it was their
first port of call. At that time it was a small waterlogged fishing
village. It became a Parish in 1600 and in 1609 the chapel was replaced
by the present large church to meet the religious aspirations of the
people, even though the village was very small. In the 18th century more
additions were made to the church in the form of the stairways in a
symmetrical zigzag form. A large church bell, the second largest in Goa
(the largest is a golden bell at the Se Cathedral), which was part of
the Augustinian Monastery on Holy Hill, was retrieved after the
monastery was damaged, and installed in this church in 1871.
The decor inside the church
is not extravagant but fairly colourful. The main altar, which has an
elegant decor, is dedicated to Mary. There are two other intricately
carved and decorated altars, one each on either side of the main altar,
which are also very attractive; the one to the left is of Jesus's
Crucifixion and the other to the right is of the Our Lady of the Rosary,
and both are gold plated. These two altars are flanked by marble statues
of St Peter and St Paul. There is also a chapel of St. Francis Xavier,
located in the south transept to the right side of the main altar; the
statues in this chapel are enclosed in a glass case.
The exterior surface of the
church is painted in white colour. There is a large belfry which houses
the polished bell that was retrieved from a monastery. Next to the ropes
suspended to ring the bell there is warning sign stating: "please do not
ring the bell".
On festive occasions, the wooden structural elements, which form part of
the vaulted ceiling above the altars, are festooned with twines of blue
and white flowers, an indication of the external colour scheme of the
church.
The Church conducts mass every day in English, Konkani and Portuguese.
During the Festival of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, held every
year on 8 March, the church is colourfully illuminated. A fair is also
part of this festival.
How to
reach
Nearest airport is Goa
International Airport (IATA: GOI, ICAO: VOGO), more commonly known
as Dabolim Airport, is an
international airport located in the city of Dabolim in Goa.
One can easily reach Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception from the city by taking local Buses,
Rickshaws, Tongas and Taxis.
|
