Basilica of Bom Jesus, Old Goa

The Basilica of Bom Jesus is one of the oldest churches located in Old Goa. This is India’s first minor basilica and its construction began in 1954.

The architecture of the church is one of the best examples of baroque architecture. The entrance of the church is very ornamental.

The church with simple interiors has marble flooring inlaid with precious stones. The main altar holds a large statue of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus.

The church holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier. He died on Sancian Island while en route to continental China in the year 1552. His body is placed in silver casket on top of a mausoleum. 

It was designed by the 17th-century Florentine sculptor Giovanni Battista Foggini. The church also holds paintings of scenes taken from the life of St. Francis Xavier. 

This church is recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Site

St. Paul’s Church, Diu

A tour of Diu is not complete without visiting the magnificent St. Paul’s Church. It was built in 1600 A.D. by the Jusuits as seminary and was subsequently rebuilt in 1807 A.D.

The church dedicated to Our Lady of Immaculate Conception. The most attractive part of the the church is its impressive Gothic facade considered to be the most elaborate of any of the Portuguese churches of India. 

 The front elevation or facade of the church is very detailed.

The interior of the church is decorated with intricately carved very beautiful wood work.

The altar has the statue of St. Mary. carved out of a single piece of Burmese teak  Its interior has elaborate and impressive design with delicate volutes and shell.

Images of India - 145

A glimpse of India in black and white. Other posts will give you more details about this place.

St. Joseph Church  in Aluva

St. Stephen's Church, Ooty

This church in Ooty is located on the road towards Mysore. It is one of the oldest church in the district.  

The construction of this 19th century church was initiated by the then Governor of Madras Stephen Rumbold Lushington. The foundation for the same was laid in 1829.

Unfortunately the gates of the church were closed when we visited it and had to satisfy ourselves only with external views.

St. Joseph’s Church, Aluva

St. Joseph’s Pontifical Seminary at Aluva is a major seminary of the Syro-Malabar Church of the St. Thomas Christians. 

The seminary has a cemetery that is a nice sturdy structure. This is a huge chapel which has been painted white in the interiors.

The church has beautiful and colrful stained glass windows. One of the colorful glass winow has Aeterni Sacerdotii on display.

X'mas is celebrated with great fan fare here.

St. Andrew’s Church, Bangalore

St. Andrew’s Church is a massive orthodoxical structure located on the Cubbon Road, Bangalore. The construction of this grand structure was started in 1864 and completed within 2 years.

The church is based on Presbyterian Scottish architecture, with a tall belfry and chiming clock at the apex of its tower, bearing its name after the patron saint of Scotland, St. Andrew. 

This church red in color is visible from very far even through the tree cover surrounding it.

Wish you all Merry X'mas.

Sacred Heart Cathedral, Shimoga

In Shimoga there are many important tourist places. One of them is Sacred Heart Cathedral located few kilometers away from the ancient Shivappa Nayak Palace.

This imposing structure, built in the Roman and Gothic styles of architecture. The 18000 sq.ft church renovated and supposed to be the second largest church in India. It has beautiful stained glass panels.

St. Philomena's Church, Mysore

St. Philomena's Church in Mysore is located in the north of the city, on Cathedral Road. It was built in the honor of St. Philomena, a saint and martyr of the Roman Catholic Church. The church is relatively new as it was constructed in the year 1956. Prior to this church in this place there existed a small church that was built by the then Maharaja Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar.

The architecture of the church is in Neo Gothic style which was inspired by the Cologne Cathedral in Germany. The church was designed by a Frenchman named Daly. The church has beautiful stain glass windows and twin lofty spires which are 175 feet in height.

The floor plan of the cathedral resembles a cross. The long part of the cross is congregation hall called the nave. The two arms of the cross are the transepts. The part containing the altar and the choir is the crossing.

The church can be accessed while travelling by road from Mysore to Bangalore.

St. Aloysius Chapel Paintings, Mangalore

This beautiful St. Aloysius Chapel in Mangalore was built sometime in 1899-1900. The interior walls and roofs of the chapel are covered with the paintings of Bro Anthony Moscheni of Italy.

This Chapel was dedicated to the St. Aloysius Gonzaga. On the wall above the alter, the paintings depict the life of Aloysius. The center picture shows him serving the people suffering from plague in Rome.

On the rear walls there is a huge painting where Jesus is shown as the friend of children. This is considered as the masterpiece from the artist.

The paintings on the ceiling.

These paintings here belong to two categories.

Fresco, where the painting is made on fresh wet lime plaster walls. As the lime plaster dries up the colors are embedded. There are about 600 square meters of walls with fresco paintings.Canvas, where oil painting is done on the pure linen of strong close weave. There are about 400 square metes of canvas paintings.

St. Aloysius Chapel, Mangalore

The St. Aloysius Chapel in Mangalore (State: Karnataka) is located in the campus of St. Aloysius College. In 1184, it was built by the Italian Jesuit Antonio Moscheni.

The chapel which looks simple externally is an architectural gem. People who have seen chapels outside India say that it can be compared with any other chapels in Rome.

The uniqueness of the chapel is in the paintings inside the chapel that cover every inch of the walls. The paintings are still in good shape. A glimpse of painting can be seen in the above image.

St. Milagres Church, Mangalore

Mangalore located in Karnataka state is a small city. It is well connected by land, sea and air. There are many temples and churches in and around this place. Some of these churches are more than 100 years old and have their own history to tell.

Milagres Church was originally built by Bishop Thomas de Castro in 1680. This church is also known as Church of Our Lady of Miracles.

The church was brought down due to battles between kings in those days and it was reconstructed in 1811. The facade collapsed again in 1911 and present structure was rebuilt again in the same year.