At Old Goa, in India, eight Portuguese Franciscan friars, who had arrived in 1517, built a small chapel in 1521. Tradition places it near the site of the main mosque of the Adil Shahi city, demolished after the Portuguese conquest. The chapel decayed over time and was replaced by a larger church, dedicated to the Holy Spirit, built in the middle of the 1660s. In the new front, of Tuscan order on three levels and flanked by two octagonal towers, the original entrance doorway was kept, in Portuguese Manueline-Gothic style, dating from the chapel of 1521. The interior, richly Baroque with Corinthian detail, holds painted panels with scenes from the life of Saint Francis of Assisi along the walls of the nave. In the chancel is an alabaster cenotaph to Dona Catarina, wife of Governor Garcia de Sá, beneath which lies the real tomb of the governor himself, who died in 1549. After the suppression of the religious orders in Goa in the 1830s the church was deconsecrated. The adjoining convent today houses the Archaeological Museum run by the Archaeological Survey of India, set up in 1964, which shows Hindu and Jain sculpture, portraits of the Portuguese governors and other finds from the region. Since 1986 the complex has formed part, with six other monuments, of the UNESCO World Heritage Site «Churches and Convents of Goa».
About the Church of St. Francis of Assisi
The Church and Convent of St. Francis of Assisi, in Old Goa, India, traces its origins to eight Portuguese Franciscan friars who arrived in 1517 and built a small chapel in 1521, reportedly near the site of the principal mosque of the pre-conquest Adil Shahi city, demolished following the Portuguese takeover. That original chapel deteriorated over time and was replaced by a larger church, dedicated to the Holy Spirit, built in the mid-1660s; remarkably, the new church’s builders retained the original chapel’s Manueline, Portuguese-Gothic entrance portal, incorporating a fragment of the 1521 structure directly into the later three-tiered Tuscan-order facade flanked by twin octagonal towers. Inside, richly Baroque decoration with Corinthian detailing frames painted panels along the nave walls depicting scenes from the life of Saint Francis of Assisi. In the chancel, a carved alabaster cenotaph commemorates Dona Catarina, wife of Governor Garcia de Sá, beneath which lies the actual grave of Garcia de Sá himself, who died in 1549 after succeeding João de Castro as Governor of Portuguese India. Following the suppression of religious orders in Goa during the 1830s, the church was deconsecrated, and the adjoining convent now houses the Archaeological Survey of India’s Goa museum, established in 1964, displaying Hindu and Jain temple sculpture, portraits of Portuguese governors and viceroys spanning some four centuries, and other artefacts recovered from across the Old Goa region. Since 1986, the complex has formed part, alongside six other monuments, of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Churches and Convents of Goa.”
Key facts
- 1521: original chapel built by Franciscan friars.
- Mid-1660s: replaced by a larger church, its 1521 Manueline entrance portal preserved.
- Chancel cenotaph and grave of Governor Garcia de Sá (d. 1549) and his wife Dona Catarina.
- 1830s: the church deconsecrated following the suppression of religious orders in Goa.
- 1964: the adjoining convent becomes the Archaeological Survey of India’s Goa museum.
- 1986: the complex becomes part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Churches and Convents of Goa”
History
The Church of St. Francis of Assisi’s preserved 1521 entrance portal, carried over into its 17th-century rebuilding, offers a rare physical link to the very earliest phase of Portuguese Franciscan presence in Goa, predating even the arrival of the Jesuits who would later dominate the region’s religious architecture. Its transformation from active parish church to archaeological museum following the 1830s suppression of religious orders reflects the broader institutional decline of Old Goa itself, once the seat of Portuguese Asia, as the colonial capital’s population and administrative importance shifted elsewhere over the following century.
What you see
The church’s three-tiered Tuscan-order facade, flanked by two octagonal towers, frames the preserved Manueline entrance portal inherited from the 1521 chapel, while the Baroque interior displays painted panels depicting the life of Saint Francis of Assisi and the Sá family cenotaph in the chancel. The adjoining former convent now presents the Archaeological Survey of India’s museum galleries, filled with sculpture, portraiture and artefacts documenting Goa’s layered Hindu, Jain and Portuguese colonial past.
Practical information
- Opening hours: museum generally open daily except certain holidays, with seasonal variation; admission fee applies; check current hours before visiting.
- Address: Old Goa, Goa, India.
Getting there
The Church and Convent of St. Francis of Assisi stands in Old Goa, near Se Cathedral and the Basilica of Bom Jesus, a short drive from the state capital Panaji. GPS: 15.5032° N, 73.9113° E.
Nearby
- Se Cathedral — the largest church in Asia, part of the same UNESCO listing, adjacent.
- Basilica of Bom Jesus — holding the remains of Saint Francis Xavier, a short walk away.
- Panaji — the Goan state capital, a short drive away.
Sources
- Wikipedia — “Church and Convent of St. Francis of Assisi” (en.wikipedia.org).
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — “Church of Saint Francis of Assisi” (britannica.com).
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre — “Churches and Convents of Goa” (whc.unesco.org).
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