Churches of Old Goa : Basilica of Bom Jesus

This is the most revered and famous of all the churches in Old Goa. It contains the relics of St. Francis Xavier, Patron saint of Goa, Apostle of the Indies and for most Goans " Goencho Saib ". Its construction was begun on the 24th November 1594 out of the funds bequeathed for the purposes by Dom Jeronimos Mascarenhas and was consecrated by the Archbishop Dom Fr. Aleixo de Menezes, on the 15th of May 1605. In 1946 it became the first church in India to be elevated to the status of a minor basilica.

The Basilica-Exterior

The three storey facade facing west that is a combination of Doric, Corinthian and composite style architecture. It is built of black laterite stone and is 78 1/2 feet high and 75 3/5 feet broad. Its facade may be divided into four parts; the lowest containing three elegant portals, the part immediately above having three large windows corresponding to the three portals, the third part above with the three circular windows and the fourth part that forms a quadrangle richly embellished with arabesques. All these portions are adorned with pillars and carvings. The pillars and detail are carved from basalt brought in from Bassein, another Portuguese enclave north of Goa.

The Basilica-Interior

The interior of the Basilica built in the mosaic-Corinthian style is remarkable for its simplicity. Its length is 182 4/5 feet, its breadth 55 1/2 feet and its height 61 1/3 feet. On each side there are three rows of windows rising one over another, besides those of the choir and corresponding circular ones. Those in the second row have a projecting gallery skillfully attached to them. Its interior is entered beneath the choir and is supported by columns. The body of the Basilica is spacious. The transept of the Basilica ends on each side in a chapel. To the left one sees the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament guarded by a huge arch with pillars. From 1623-1655, the relics of St. Francis Xavier were kept in this chapel. The altar is meant for the tabernacle only. Now the Blessed Sacrament is preserved in a small gold tabernacle which was first kept on the main altar below the huge statue of St. Ignatius. On the northern wall near to the side door is a cenotaph in gilded bronze to Dom Jeronimos Mascarenhas, Captain of Cochin and Ormuz and the benefactor of the church. The main altar is 54 feet high and 30 1/5 feet broad and is dedicated to the Infant Jesus. It is exquisitely decorated in gold and depicts the infant Jesus under the protection of St Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, whose eyes are raised to a huge gilded sun above his head on which the Jesuit symbol " IHS " is emblazoned. Above the sun is a depiction of Trinity . The statue of St. Ignatius is almost three meters high. To each side are altars to Our Lady of Mercy and St. Michael. There is also the Liturgical altar that was set up in the transept by assembling parts of the old discarded altars. It was inaugurated on March 12th 1965.