GOA
604
GOA
jurisdiction of Cochin and Mylapore was restored, and
a third suffragan diocese (that of Damao) added — all
in British territory ; and after subsequent adjustments
the present delimitations were agreed to. At the
same time the Indian hierarchy was established, and
the whole of the coimtry divided into provinces, dio-
ceses, and prefectures Apostolic.
In the following Lht of Prelates of the See of Goa, dates still under dispute are given in parentheses:
Cathedral of St. Catherine, G'
Joao Affonso d 'Albuquerque, 15.38-1553; Gaspar de
Leao Pereira, 1560-1567, and again 1574-1576; Hen-
rique de Tavora, transferred from Cochin, 1578-1581;
Joao Vicente da Fonseca, 1580-1586 (1581-1587);
Matheus de Medina, transferred from Cochin, 1588-
1592; Aleixo de Menezes, 1595-1610 (1612); Christo-
vam de Sa e Lisboa, from the Bishopric of Malacca
(1610) 1616-1622; Sebastiao de S. Pedro, from the
Bishopric of Mylapore (1623) 1625-1629; Manoel
Telles de Brito, 1631 (died on voyage); Francisco dos
Martyres, 1636-1652; Christovao da Silveira, 1671 or
1672 (died on voyage); Antonio de Brandao, 1675-
1678; Manoel de Souza e Menezes, 1681-1684; Alberto
de Silva, 1687-1688; Pedro de Silva, from the Bishop-
ric of Cochin, 1689-1691; Agostino da Annuncia^ao,
1691-1713; Sebastiao d'Andrado Pessanha, 1716-
1721; Ignacio de Santa Thereza, 1721-1739; Eugenio
Triguieros, 1741, from the Bishopric of Macao (died
on voyage); Lourengo de Santa Maria e Mello, 1744-
1750; Antonio Taveira de Neiva Brum e Silveira,
1750-1775; Francisco de Assump^ao e Brito, 1775-
1780; Manoel de Santa Catharina, transferred from
Cochin (1780) 1784-1812; Manoel de Sao Gualdino,
1812-1831; Jose Maria de Silva Torres, 1844-1849;
Joao C'hrysostome d'Amorim e Pessoa, 1863-1869
(1874); Ayres de Ornellas Vasconsellos, 1875-1880;
Antonio Sebastiao Valente (first patriarch) 1882-
1908. The present prelate, Mathseus d'Oliveira
Xavier, transferred from Cochin, took possession of
his see 1 July, 1909.
During the vacancies (some of which extended to 6, 7, 1.3, and one even to 23 years) the see was, according to the rules laid down by Gregory XIII in 1562 and Leo XII in 1826, administered by the Bishop of Cochin, or, failing him, by the Bishop of Mylapore; and failing both, sometimes by some prelate from else- where, sometimes by a coadjutor or vicar capitular, as circumstances allowed.
Synods. — The first and second provincial synods were presided over by Dom Gaspar de Leao Pereira in l.')67 and 1575 respectively; the third, in 1585, by Dom Vicente da Fonseca; the fourth, in 1592, by Dom Mntheus do Medina; the fifth, in 1606, by Dom Aleixo de Menezes. In these five councils 316 decrees were framed relating to ecclesiastical discipline (Fonseca, p. 67). In recent times one provincial council was held (1894) by Dom Antonio S. Valente, in which
seventy-nine decrees were framed. The special Synod
of Diamper, held in 1599, had for its scope the reunion
of the Thomas Christians, for whom the See of Anga-
male was established in the following year.
The City of Goa. — The city of Goa, originally a fortress in the hands first of the Hindus and then of the Mohammedans, was taken by Albuquerque in 1510. As soon as he became master of the place he built the first church — that of St. Catherine, who thus became the patron of the new city. This was the beginning of a vast series of churches, large and small, numbering over fifty, with convents, hospices, and other institu- tions attached, which made Goa one of the most inter- esting ecclesiastical cities in the world. The civil splendour was in keeping with the ecclesiastical. But the situation was an imfortunate one. Lying on a low stretch of coast-land, surrounded on two sides by shallow creeks and on the other two by miasmic mar.shes, the place was soon found unhealthy to such a degree that, after several ravages by epidemics, it was gradually abandoned in favour of Panjim, five miles nearer the sea. The transfer of the government in 1759 soon led to the total desertion of the old city. In consequence the civil buildings gradually fell into decay or were demolished for the sake of building materials, and, especially after the expulsion of the religious orders in 1835, many churches and monas- teries followed suit. In place of houses thick palm- groves gradually grew up, which now, with the excep- tion of a few open spaces, occupy the whole area. The original city extended almost two miles from east to west along the river, and comprised three low hills crowned with religious edifices.
Most of the churches have disappeared, leaving nothing but a cross to mark their site. Others are in various stages of decay, while a few are kept in repair. The finest of those still standing are grouped about the great square: the cathedral (built" 1571), in which alone the full liturgy is kept up by a body of resident canons, and adjoining which is an archiepiscopal palace; the Bom Jesus church (Jesuit, built c. 1586), containing the body of St. Francis Xavier incorrupt in a rich shrine; St. Cajetan's, built about 1655, belonging to the Theatines; the Franciscan church of St. Francis of Assisi, built on the site of a mosque, 1517-21 ; and finally the little chapel of St. Catherine, built in 1510.
Palace of the Patriarch, Panjim or New Goa
Farther away, on the western hill, stand the great nunnery of St. Monica (1598), still in full repair, for- merly occupied by a large commimity of native nuns — the only female religious in Goa; the Augustinian church and convent built in 1572, now in ruins; convent and church of St. John of God (1685), now partly in ruins; the Rosary church of the Dominicans, built before 1543; the viceregal chapel of St. Anthony, of about the same date. The last two are still in full repair. To the south are the ruins of the Jesuit
