INDIA :Goa Bom Jesus
The great Bom Jesus Basilica, in Velha
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 de Xavier. Born in Navarre, he 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 canonisation by Pope Gregory XV,
in 1622, his remains were moved to Bom Jesus. The lavishly decorated
mausoleum containing the casket was carved by a 17th century Italian
sculptor and is located on the south side of the transept in the cavernous
church. Public viewing of Saint Francis, held every ten years, attracts
hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from around the world. Velha Goa, the
former capital of Goa, is a village-like community located 10 km inland from
the present capital, Panjim. Other places of worship located 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.