Basilica of Bom Jesus

Basilica of Bom Jesus

Juliao Simao, Domingos Fernandes
1594 - 1605
Goa, India
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The Basilica of Bom Jesus, located in Goa, is among the oldest and most prominent churches in India.This is the only church in Old Goa not plastered on the outside, the lime plaster having been stripped off by a zealous Portuguese conservationist in 1950.

The imposing facade built out of black granite in an exquisite combination of the Doric, Corinthian and composite styles is remarkable for its simplicity. It is one of the finest examples of Baroque Architecture in India.

The roof was originally tiled. The church is cruciform on plan. The flying buttresses on the northern side of the church are recent additions. A single-storeyed structure adjoining the church on its southern wing connects it with the Professed House.

The three-storeyed facade of the Church shows Ionic, Doric and Corinthian Orders, and has a main entrance flanked by two smaller ones, each having Corinthian columns supporting a pediment. There are two chapels, a main altar and a sacristy besides a choir inside the Church itself. There is a belfry is at the back.

Famous throughout the Roman Catholic world, the imposing Basilica of Bom Jesus contains the tomb and mortal remains of St Francis Xavier, the so-called Apostle of the Indies. St Francis Xavier’s missionary voyages throughout the East became legendary. His ‘incorrupt’ body is in the mausoleum to the right, in a glass-sided coffin amid a shower of gilt stars.

Inside the basilica the layout is simple but grand. A simple wooden one has now replaced the original vaulted ceiling. To the left of the door as you enter the basilica is a statue of St. Francis Xavier, but the visitor's attention is drawn to the huge and ornate gilded reredos which stretches from floor to ceiling behind the altar.