Church Of St Paul Information :

Location: Lies on the road from Old Goa to Ponda.
Main Attraction: Old ruins of the brilliant church.
How to Reach: Local transport within Goa is available round the clock.

About the Church Of St Paul :

Two priests are to be credited for the establishment of Church of St Paul. Their names are Fr. Diogo de Borba and Fr. Miguel Vaz who were members of the Holy Faith. They had come to Goa to train new young converts. To these priests also go the credit of founding the Santa Fé Confraternity. The church they built is dedicated to St Paul. The construction of the Church of St Paul was started in November 1541 and was terminated on January 25, 1543 – the feast day of the Conversion of St. Paul. Some years later, after St. Francis Xavier had taken over due to Fr Borba’s death in 1548, the college building was razed and the two separate edifices were constructed. They were the Seminário de Santa Fé (for students) and the Colégio de São Paulo (for residence of the Jesuits). These two buildings were connected by a passage, were constructed.

The College had a large library and Asia’s first printing press. There were also several other buildings to the St Paul’s College. Three of them were a Novitiate, a Hospital and a house to shelter the newly converted. In 1556, King Dom Joao III brought out an regulation which allowed the College to be opened for secular studies. In 1560 the Church of St Paul was again dismantled due to weak condition. So, as a replacement, the foundation for a larger Church was laid. Twenty years later, cracks appeared on one of the walls. So the three arches were built in the Church, under the supervision of Jesuit João de Faria, to provide support to any instability in the structure.

The church is also the place where the martyrs of Cuncolim lie buried. However, by the year 1827, the College and the Church of St Paul was in shambles. The Church of St Paul was demolished in 1829 by the Government. Only the façade was spared. The presence of Francis Xavier was the greatest respect that this institution has received so far; moreover, the first public exposition of his body after his death took place in the Church of St. Paul.