Churches of Old Goa : Church And Convent of St Francis of Assisi

Attached to the west side of Se Cathedral is the Convent of St. Francis of Assisi whose Church also faces west. The Archiepiscopal Palace, a two storied building, 230 feet in length and 108 feet in breadth joins the Se Cathedral to the Convent. The Archbishops continued to reside in this palace until 1695 when they moved to Panelim because of the epidemic.

The Church and the Convent of St. Francis of Assisi was created by the Franciscan friars, eight of whom came to Old Goa in 1517. The future Church and Convent began as a chapel built after the Governor made available to them some houses belonging to a deceased Thanedar Joao Machado. This was subsequently modified to a church in 1521 consecrated to the Holy Spirit on August 2nd 1602. The Convent was initially some cells that the friars built in the garden as their residence. It underwent a renovation in 1529. Around that time it housed some forty friars. In 1835 this Convent was closed by the Portuguese government, its 27 inmates were expelled ,never to return and its property appropriated. Since 1964 the convent houses the Museum of the Archaeological Survey of India. Among the collections in the museum are artifacts, paintings and sculptures . For more details check out the Archaeological Survey of India Museum page.

The Church contiguous to the Convent was demolished in 1661 and rebuilt retaining its old gate made of black stone and exquisitely carved. It has a courtyard and an old large cross made of black stone. Its external architecture belongs to the Tuscan order and its interior to the mosaic-Corinthian style. Its length is about 190 feet and its breadth about 60 feet. the great organ that stood on its side altars was removed and today adorns the church at Margao. The interior is heavily gilded with scenes from the bible and the walls have frescoes showing intricate floral designs. In the niche on the facade stands a statue of St. Michael. A wooden statue of St. Francis of Assisi adorns a pedestal in one of its chapels. Of the nine altars and six chapels that this church once possessed, only three now remain. The main altar has a richly carved niche with a tabernacle supported by four evangelists. Above the tabernacle is a large statue of St. Francis of Assisi and an equally large statue of Jesus on the Cross, about 6 1/2 feet in height. The church presently is not used for religious functions.