English
Church of the Holy Spirit
Nandakal, Mumbai Metropolitan Area (Bombay), India
Religious Architecture
The Nandakal Church of the Holy Spirit is mentioned for the first time in 1585, although according to A. Meersman it was most likely founded previously (local tradition refers to the year 1573). In Franciscan documents it is sometimes referred to as the Holy Spirit church of the village of Comparata. In 1635 it counted two confraternities: of Jesus and of Our Lady of the Conception. The building pertained to the Franciscans at least until 1720; one tradition holds that it was not damaged by the Marathas after 1739. The church was subject to renovations in 1910 and 1930, but we do not know the specific details. The floor has gravestones with Portuguese inscriptions dated 1906 and 1908 (indicating that the language was spoken at least until that time in this parish of ‘norteiros’ or ‘East-Indians’). As in other Franciscan churches and other congregations in the old Província do Norte (Thane, Nirmal, Sandor), the church is built by a pool or large tank, around which various temples are nowadays located. One tradition included by organisers of the book In the Mission Field indicates that the church was built on the site of a temple. The church’s chancel is on the east side. It is a single nave building with a tile roof which an early 20th century photo shows to have been steeply sloping. It now has a modern roof, although the front gable is quite steep. The chancel is vaulted, but the vault was recently repaired and its original form is not known. The façade is nowadays partly covered by a concrete portico which replaces a wooden and tiled galilee still in place in the early 20th century. The portico must have been done when it was disassembled and replaced by a likewise contemporary building, the Franciscan rectory with its tile roofs and covered verandas, which was situated west of the church. The curvilinear profile, the pinnacles adorning the façade and the tops of the two bell towers framing it are probably 19th century or even later. Inside, the wooden galleries held up by iron pillars that probably replace an old high choir are apparently early 20th century, along with a Gothic front window and the Gothic arrangement of the church’s north side door, which nevertheless retain visible traces of their original form. The high altar, side altars and pulpits date to the turn of the 17th-18th century. They are either original or were brought from churches in Vasai and Thane, as so often occurred in the Província do Norte after 1740.