St. Cajetan Church – The real pearl of Goa



Away from the regular traffic and the noisy environment, is the beautiful place of Old Goa. A place, where we find a lot of historical monuments, be it The Basilica of Bom Jesus or The Archaeological Museum. In the shadow of the other churches, the St. Cajetan Church is situated in Old Goa. A whole lot of people say “Peace of mind is attained in silence” Very truly said, when one visits this particular place, one just gets carried away, with serenity and the beautiful infrastructure of this place.
St. Cajetan Church was completed way back in 1661 by the Italian friars of the order of Theatines. This church was built in lines of the Basilica of St. Peter’s in Rome. Hence, this church has a quiet different and appealing foreign touch to it. And it stands out among all the other churches in Old Goa.
The church has been dedicated to Our Lady of Divine Providence, it’s name however finds it’s origin after the founder of Theatines, (St. Cajetan). One of the unique feature about the church is that, this is the only surviving domed church in Goa. The exterior of the church has a Corinthian style of architecture while the interiors are a blend of Mosaic – Corinthian architecture. It has a spectacular rectangular tower on the either sides, atop the façade to serve as belfry the niches below have statues of the apostles.
Another striking feature is the stunning altars in Golden and is decorated with lovely carvings in the Baroque style. The church has altogether three altars, on the either sides of the main altars. Towards the left, there’s an altar dedicated to the Holy Family, Our Lady of Piety and St. Clare, while towards the right, there’s an altar dedicated to St. John, St. Cajetan and St. Agnes. The Altar dedicated to St. Cajetan is the largest in the church. A wooden platform emerges from one of the docks and is beautifully adorned and decorated.
Surprisingly, beneath the main altar, there’s a well, which may have belonged to an earlier Hindu structure. The water, in the well reflects light. Some say it’s the reflection of light from the dome, which is exactly parallel to the well. The presence of well in the church signifies that the church was constructed on a site where initially there was a Hindu temple.
The Hindu temple must have been destroyed during the time of invasion, while several others believe that the well was deliberately built in order to provide stability to the structure. St Cajetan Church has failed to gain the status of a full-fledged church, and thus, the church conducts mass only once a year. However, mass on special request are also entertained.
The architectural style of the church is mesmerising, this helped it gain immense popularity world-wide. It is generally visited regularly by several tourists, almost every year. And thus, it is truly called the real pearl of Goa.



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