Convent and Church of St. Cajetan

Opposite the Se Cathedral, lying beyond the Rua Direita across the road is the large St. Cajetan Church and Convent. It was build by Italian friars of the order of Theatines in 1640. The friars were missionaries appointed by the then Pope Urban VIII to preach Christianity to the Kingdom of Golconda , but when they did not get permission to work in Golconda, they settled in Goa in 1640. The church is dedicated to Our Lady of Divine Providence but is popularly called St. Cajetan, the founder of the Order of Theatines. The convent can be seen standing in front of the church. Today the convent houses the a functioning theological college, the Pius X Pastoral institute and was inaugurated on October 29th 1962. The whole convent is now renovated and a new western wing added.

The Church of St. Cajetan has been modeled after the Basilica of St. Peter's in Rome. Its length is 121 feet and breadth 81 feet. It is built of laterite stone and is lime plastered. The external architecture is Corinthian and the interior mosaic-Corinthian. Its beautiful facade facing west has towering Corinthian columns supporting a central pediment above which the twin belfry towers arise. A spiral staircase of about 50 steps lead to its towers. The church is vaulted. The body is divided into a nave and two aisles. Ther is one main altar and each side also has three altars. The three altars on the left side are dedicated to the Holy Family, Our Lady of Piety and St. Clare. The altars to the left are dedicated to St. John, St. Cajetan and St. Agnes. The main altar is dedicated to Our Lady of Divine Providence. In the middle of the nave directly underneath the dome is a well or a tank with a small opening in its covering closed with a square slab. This is reported to have been a Hindu temple tank or tirtha before the construction of the Church over it and its origin is a s yet unclear. This is the only surviving domed church in Goa.

Below the main altar inside lies the catacombs, originally the burial place of priests and later of the early Portuguese governors.