Church of Our Lady of the Rosary of Goa Vieja
On the top of the Holy Mount, on the Mandovi River, one of the oldest constructions that are preserved in Goa Vieja is raised: the church of Our Lady of the Rosary, built between 1544 and 1547 as an extension of an earlier chapel. It is part of the "Churches and convents of Goa" set, declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 1986.
🌹 Wonders and anecdotes
- According to the chronist Gaspar Correia, Afonso de Albuquerque ordered to erect a chapel to Our Lady of the Rosary in the place from which he saw the take of Goa in 1510; a letter of 1548 to King John III documents that the present church was born from the expansion of that chapel.
- It is an iglesia- a cruciform plant fortress with cylindrical and counterstrong towers, which combines the styles of Manuelin and gothic, with twisted stone cords lining the tower of the facade.
- In the apse the tombstone of Dona Catarina, wife of Governor Garcia de Sá, is preserved with a Portuguese inscription that implores divine mercy.
- As it was removed from the centre of the old city it was not modernized, so it is among the oldest and best preserved buildings of Goa Vieja.
Our Lady of the Rosary (Goa)
For the Catholics of Goa, heirs of almost five centuries of faith, this church is a living memory of the origins of the evangelization of Portuguese India. His main altar, dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary, presides over the Christian cradle of Goa from the Holy Mount.
"Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.
Is the advocation of the Virgin Mary of your people missing?
Si no encuentras la advocación mariana de tu ciudad o pueblo, cuéntanosla: la investigaremos para ubicarla y darla a conocer en este mapa del amor de la Madre por el mundo.
Propose an apvocation →