Goa - Church of St. Augustine in Old Goa

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

After doing a detour at Church of  Lady of Rosary we headed off to see the Church of St. Augustine.

The tower from a distance

Ruins

There is no church here, as of today its just the ruins that stand around the broken tower.

Ruins next to the tower

As per history this tower is one of the four towers of St. Augustine Church. The height of the tower was around 46 metres. Around 4 storey high in lay mans term, The tower used to house the church bell. 

The tower

Cells in the premises

The Church which is currently in ruins had four altars and many cells. 

Church Info

This church was built by the Portuguese. It was finished between 1597 to 1602. This church was abandoned in 1835 by the Portuguese when they left Old Goa. The church vault collapsed in 1846. As there was no one to take care of the church, The valuables were either lost or stolen. It finally crumbled and all that is left are these ruins. In 1931 the facade and half of the tower crumbled. 

Church Info

The ruins houses the graves of the dead. Meaning in those days the dead were buried in the church premises only. There were many graves there. Not sure what the writing on the graves meant as it was not in English. 

Graves inside the church premises

Also located these tiles with beautiful patterns  pasted on the walls. When everything has been stolen or removed not sure how this survived. 

Tiles on the walls

Not sure what this is but it is packed in glass. Hoping it is something of importance. Not sure what the write up on the white stone meant. Again it was not in english.

Artifact

We were the only ones here, so we  checked out the ruins in entirety. It's hard to image how the church and the towers around it would have looked like in its glory days. But again due to the neglect of mankind, this is all that remains of it.

Altars in church premises

Another Altar

If this is not taken care off then the coming generations might not even be able to see this. 

Goa - Se Cathedral in Old Goa

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

After visiting Basilica of Bom Jesus we headed over to the other side of the road to see Se Cathedral. 

Se Cathedral also known as Se Catedral de Santa Catarina is one of the oldest religious structure in Goa and one of the largest churches in Asia. 

Se Cathedral 

Cathedral Interiors

Main Altar

Altar

Se Cathedral was built by the Portuguese to commemorate their victory over Adil Shah under the governance of Afonso de Albuquerque in the 15th century. The day the Portuguese were declared victors, it was the feast of St. Catherine. That is how the Cathedral got its name, Sé Catedral de Santa Catarina.

Altar

Altar

Altar

The construction of the Cathedral started in 1562, was completed in 1619 and was consecrated in 1640. 

Altar

Altar

Altar

The Cathedral is constructed in the shape of a Cross. It is colored white both on the inside and the outside. It has beautifully carved pillars in its premises. The ceiling is more than four storey tall. 

Altar

Altar

Altar

The Main Altar is dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria, apart from that there are many other altars in its premises. This is the first one I have come across with some many altar's. 

St. Peter

Altar

Altar

The Cathedral also houses many old paintings, but as the premises is not well lit up the photos are not crisp and clear.

Altar

Altar

Altar

A little sound and it echo's in its premises. I can imagine, that when the Hymns are sung, the sound will travel the length and breadth of the church. The sound of the hymns will be soothing to the ears.

Altar

Church Interiors

Statue of  Jesus

After taking photos, which are unclear due to lack of lighting, we moved on to see Church of St. Francis of Assisi. 

Se  Cathedral