Churches and Convents of Goa
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How it came to be
The Churches and Convents of Goa stand in Old Goa on India's west coast, once the capital of Portuguese India. The city was founded in the 15th century by the Sultanate of Bijapur as a port on the Mandovi River, taken in 1510 by Afonso de Albuquerque, and held by Portugal into the 20th century.
From the mid-16th century Jesuits, Franciscans, Dominicans and other orders settled here, and Goa became the centre of Catholic missions in Asia. The oldest surviving church is Our Lady of the Rosary, built in 1543; after Goa became a bishopric in 1534, the cathedral was rebuilt from 1562 and its facade completed in 1631. Work on the Church of Bom Jesus began in 1594, and it was consecrated in May 1605.
UNESCO credits these buildings with spreading Manueline, Mannerist and Baroque art to the countries of Asia where missions were founded. The Church of Bom Jesus holds the remains of St Francis Xavier. From the late 17th century the city declined: the viceroy moved to Panjim in 1759, and Old Goa lost its capital status in 1843. The ensemble was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1986.
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