Church of Our Lady of Remedies

Friday, June 1, 2012

On the outskirts of the Moti Daman Fort stands the Church of Our Lady of Remedies.

One glance at the Church brought memories of the churches of Goa to my mind.  Once again, the same whitewashed walls and wooden doors.

Church of our Lady of Remedies

This church was built by Rui De Mello De Sampaiyo, the Governor and Captain of Daman in 1607 AD.

There is a lovely white cross outside the church. It features a plant bearing flowers with names written in Portuguese. I have no idea what the words mean but this is the first time I have seen a Cross bearing names.

Grotto

A beautifully carved bell, suspended from a wooden stand, hangs outside near the entrance of the Church. The bell has been re-painted brown to match the doors and windows of the Church. The paint job was a bad one. The painters had managed to paint over and completely obscure the design on the bell. I guess they should have let the bell be the way it was.

Cross made of Flowers

A small grotto of Mother Mary stands next to the Church, adjoining one of the walls of the church. Next to it stands a beautiful cross made of flowers, live flowers growing from the cross. I have been to many churches before, but this concept of having a cross made in the garden truly stands out.

Church Altar

I met the Parish Priest, and requested him to show me around the Church. The Priest was in a hurry but he still decided to show me around. A big thanks to him. The church is painted blue on the inside. It had a pulpit, canopy altar and the 14 paintings of the Way of the Cross.

I liked the paintings done on the pulpit and the altars. Truly commendable. A salute to the great artists whose work they were.