Other Churches Of Old Goa

Chapel of St. Anthony, Old Goa

This is situated opposite the ruins of the Church of St. Augustine and south of the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary. It is dedicated to St. Anthony, the patron saint of the Portuguese army and navy and is also one of the earliest to be built in Goa by Alfonso de Albuquerque. It was abandoned in 1835, and rebuilt in 1961 by the last Governor General of Goa, Vassalo de Silva.

Church of Our Lady of the Mount, Old Goa

Situated on an elevation, the Chapel of Our Lady of the Mount was built in 1557 many years after the conquest of Goa to mark the place where Adil Shah took position with his artillery. The Portuguese archaeological committee placed in 1931 the following inscription in marble: " Here the Mohammedan artillery stood against Alfonso de Albuquerque to retake Goa in May, 1510". The retable of the main altar presents eight panels. In the central niche is the statue of Our Lady of the Mount with the child Jesus, above it the picture of the coronation of the virgin, and below, that of our Lady of Assumption. The pictures on the side and those seen on the walls of the main altar represent several acts of Our Lady’s life. At the base of the retable are the busts of St. Vincent with a ship and that of St. Lawrence with a gridiron, the symbol of his martyrdom. The collateral altars are dedicated to St. Anthony and St. Anthony, at the angle of the panel of this Saint are miniature pictures of the devil with the following caption: "Peccatum meum contra me est. sempre" (My sin is always before me, PS. 50,4)

Chapel of St. Xavier, Old Goa

In the area of the now extinct college of St. Paul at Old Goa, stands the small traditional chapel of St. Francis Xavier. Some say it was built by the Saint himself and he conducted his mass there, passing hours in meditation, others presume it was built after his death. It is even opined that it is one of the two Chapels of the garden of St. Paul’s College, dedicated respectively to St. Anthony and St. Jerome. The dedication may have been changed in commemoration to the pious exclamations of the saint "Satis est Domine, Satis est."

Ruins of the Convent and Church of St. Augustine

The Convent now completely in ruins was constructed by 12 Augustinian friars in 1572 immediately after their arrival at Goa on September 3rd 1572. This church, now in ruins also was constructed in 1602. It was reportedly in good shape until it was abandoned in 1835 following the banning of religious orders by the Portuguese government. The church fell into neglect and its vault collapsed in 1842. The facade collapsed on August 8th and 19th, 1931. All that is left today is a bell tower without the bell. The bell was moved to the Fort Aguada Light House initially (1841-1871) and in 1871 was moved to the Church of Our lady of Immaculate Conception at Panaji where it remains functioning to this day.

Church of St. Peter (Igreja de St. Pedro) at Old Goa

On the way from Panaji to Old Goa, one sees a dome across the parish church of St. Peter. It is very old, and appears to have been erected about the year 1542 or 1543 at the expense of the public treasury by the Portuguese architects, as is learnt from an official document. Many believe it to have been erected on the orders of the Archbishop Dom Fr. Alexio de Menezes, but this is erroneous as the Archbishop commenced to govern the diocese only in 1595. The church now wears an antique appearance and has nothing remarkable about it. It is small in size and on one of its altars is seen an image of St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, to whom it is dedicated. On the floor are seen a few inscriptions almost effaced; that at the entrance bears the name of Joao Rodríguez Machado. In the background of the main altar can still be seen, the old wooden frame grafted with thin marine shells, through which a bluish light