Church Of Saint Francis of Assisi

Colvale, Goa, India

Religious Architecture

This Colvale church was founded in 1591 on a site overlooking the south bank of the Chapora River on the border of Bardez and was one of the territory’s first Franciscan rectories. The current church is the third on the site and results from reconstruction (beginning in 1713) of the second church, in turn built in the 1630s. The building stands out for being one of the few completely vaulted parish churches in Goa. This was done on the initiative of the communities of Colvale and Camlorlim. This is a single-naved church with internal galilee under a high choir. The nave and chancel vaults are very simple – barrel vaults with lateral penetrations. The two narrow side towers seem to have been added to the façade marked by three Franciscan entryways in the 19th century. All the façade adornment is otherwise eclectic and irregular. Abutments are arranged along the outside walls to support the down-bearing vaults; we can thus see that these were imposed on the existing wall structure. The church’s façade faces one of the largest courtyards in Goa. The chancel and the parish house, recently irremediably transfigured, scenically overlook the bank of the Chapora to the north

• Paulo Varela Gomes