Churches and Convents of Goa

The Bom Jesus Basilica and a few designated convents are designated a World Heritage Site. The Basilica holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier, regarded by many Catholics as the patron saint of Goa (the patron of the Archdiocese of Goa is actually the Blessed Joseph Vaz. Once every decade, the body is taken down for veneration and for public viewing. The last such event was conducted in 2004. The Velhas Conquistas regions are also known for its Goa-Portuguese style architecture.

Religious Relics . Spice Route .

Reviews

Neville Bulsara (India):
It's really unfortunate that Goa sees more visitors flocking it's beaches compared to those who visit the grandoise structures at Old Goa. You'll find some photos of the churches of Old Goa in the galleries section of my travel and documentary photography website at http://www.nevillebulsara.com
Date posted: October 2006
Sri Ganesh (USA):
I visited Goa while in college in India along with friends during the Christmas-New year week in 1983. The Churches and Convents of Goa gave the feeling of being in Europe right in India! The Basilica of Bom Jesus was noteworthy and I was fortunate to visit that when Saint Francis Xavier's preserved body was exposed to the public!
Date posted: September 2006
Sunny Upadhyay (Mumbai, India):
They show Indian-Portugal culture. Much of a part of Portugese in India. As they had rules that part of India for many decaded. They're disappearing, as for greedy land developers are destroying a lot of the beauty in India.

can't UNECSO help?
Date posted: June 2005
Rodolfo de Sousa (Germany):
Although I'm a German national of Indian origin and have travelled widely all over Europe, nowhere have I seen windows like we have in Goa. They're unique. They're terrific. They're superb. And they're historic!
And they're disappearing!
Can't UNESCO do something to save them from extinction?
 
Robin Huggins (France - but English ex pat):
We visited goa earlier earlier this year and were most impressed with the Perreira-Braganza/Menezes-Braganza house, in the village of Chandor. Apart from the colonial mansion the fact that the original furnishings still exist is amazing. Is this mansion outside the scope of World Heritage?
If not it is certainly worth considering, at the moment they seem to rely on viitors donations, and as a consequence any retoration work is painfully slow. One very worrying aspect seems to be the total lack of security. I am sure some of the artifacts are very valuable indeed. I would be grateful for your comments.
 


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