INDIA :Goa Bom Jesus
The great Bom Jesus Basilica in Velha Goa (Old Goa) is
the most sacred place of Christian pilgrimage in India. Built in 1695, the
awesome Baroque-style building modelled on the Jesuit head-quarters in Rome
enshrines the sacred remains of the Spanish Saint Francis Xavier. Born in
Navarre, Francisco de Xavier took his vows in 1534 subsequently devoting his
life to missionary work in Portugal`s Indian colonies, the Dutch East Indies
and Japan. A member of the Jesuits, he died on a voyage to China in 1552 and
as legend has it when his body was brought to Goa, it was found to be as
fresh as the day it was buried. The corpse was at first placed in St Paul`s
Church but following his canonisation by Pope Gregory XV in 1622 his
remains were moved to Bom Jesus. The lavishly decorated mausoleum containing
the casket was carved by in the 17th century by an Italian
sculptor and is located on the south side of the transept in the cavernous
church. Public viewing of Saint Francis held once every ten years attracts
hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from around the world. Velha Goa
the former capital of Goa is today a quiet village-like community located 10
kms inland from the present capital Panjim. Other places of worship there
include the majestic Se Cathedral but the Bom Jesus Basilica built of red
laterite and rising high above the coconut palms is nothing less than an
awesome monument to the Catholic faith. The churches and convents of Goa
were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1986.