|
The Church of St. Francis of Assisi is located in Old Goa and 9 Km away from Panaji. It is in the same compound as the Se Cathedral. The history of this church is that it was a convent and church built for the Franciscan friars in 1521. It was again rebuilt in 1661 with Tuscan facade and a Baroque interior. The structure is built of laterite blocks and is lime-plastered. The church faces west and has a nave with three chapels on either side, a choir, two altars in the transept and a main altar. To the north of the main altar is a belfry and a sacristy. The convent, which forms an annexure to the church, now houses the Archaeological Museum. Beauty Of Church of St. Francis of Assisi, Goa The main entrance of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi is in Manuline style and the exterior of the church is of the Tuscan order. The main altar is Baroque with Corinthian features. The internal buttress walls, separating the chapels and supporting the gallery on top, have frescoes showing intricate floral designs. In a niche on the facade, stands a statue of our lady of miracles brought from Jaffna in Sri Lanka. A wooden statue of St. Francis of Assisi adorns a pedestal bearing the insignia of the Franciscans. A wooden pulpit, richly carved with floral designs is to the left as one enters. The main altar is gilded and has a richly carved niche with a tabernacle supported by the four evangelists Something About Church of St. Francis of Assisi The Church of St. Francis of Assisi houses the archeological Museum too. The Museum architecture has a touch of the Indo-Portuguese Baroque style. The inscribed tombstones pave the floor. The Archeological Museum was established in the convent in 1964. Its eclectic collection comprises 60 portraits of the Portuguese viceroys and governors of Goa. Other appealing exhibits are a statue of Albuquerque, a model of Vasco da Gama, the bronze statue of St Catherine from the Viceroy Arch, Lord Vishnu and a standing Statute of the God Surya etc.
|
