Church Immaculate

The Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church (Nossa Senhora da Immaculada Conceicao) is located in Panjim, Goa, India. The Church conducts mass every day in English, Konkani, and Portuguese.

The colonial Portuguese Baroque style church was first built in 1541 as a chapel on a hill side overlooking the city of Panjim. It was eventually replaced by a larger church in the 1600s as part of Portuguese Goa's religious expansion.This church houses the ancient bell that was removed from the Augustinian ruins of the Church of Our Lady of Grace (Nossa Senhora da Graça) in the once famed city of Old Goa. This bell is considered to be the second largest of its kind in Goa, surpassed only by the Golden Bell which resides in the Sé Cathedral in Old Goa.

This Church is located in the heart of Panjim city. The Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church, is one of the oldest churches in Goa, which existed from the year 1540. It is among the first churches to be built in Goa with its church bells being the second largest in the world.

One of the oldest chapels in Goa, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church is one of the most prominent landmarks of the state’s capital city Panaji. The distinctive architecture of the church includes a series of criss-crossing steps that lead you to the prayer hall and massive bells on its rooftop. If you’re visiting Goa in December, then head to the chapel on the 8th of December (celebrated as Feast of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception) for a special service and lively fair earmarked for this day of the year. The monument is best viewed at night, when it is ablaze with lights that add to its spiritual charm.

History

A chapel was first built in Panaji in 1541, to serve the religious needs of Portuguese sailors at their first port of call in colonial Portuguese India. At that time the settlement was a small fishing village.It became a Parish in 1600, and in 1609 the small chapel was replaced by the present day large church to minister to the residents and sailors.In the 18th century the stairways, in a symmetrical zigzag form, were added to the church. The second largest church bell in Goa was installed in a bell tower in 1871. It was formerly at the Augustinian Monastery on Holy Hill, and was retrieved after the monastery was damaged.

The early church was completely re-built from its foundations in 1619 and this was even considered, taking accountof the still negligible population of the area and the size of the new church, is a striking commentary on the religious climateof the time and the wealth available to the churches.alt The interior of the church is relatively simple by the standards of the time although the backdrop to the main altar, dedicated to Mary Immaculate, is impressive enough

However, it is the two flanking altars that catch the eye, that on the left dedicated to Jesus Crucified and that on the right to Our Lady of the Rosary. Each is a riot of heavily gilded, deeply carved ornamentation, yet compact and controlled, a fine example of the period. At the side of each is a marble statue, one of St Peter and one of St Paul. In the south transept to the right of the main altar is a Chapel of St. Francis Xavier, whose glass-encased statue occupies the centre of the reredos.