St. Francis Xavier, the patron Saint of Goa.

Goa in India has some fantastic Churches built more than 400 years ago.
They were built by the Portuguese, who came to and conquered this tiny State in India in the 16th century and ruled here for around 450 years.

The Church of Saint Francis Xavier is especially impressive.
It has been well-maintained and so has the body of this Saint, who is the patron Saint of Goa.
His Body has not degenrated at all and is exposed for veneration every ten years, and it draws huge crowds from all over the world.
It's a medical marvel, that his body has never decomposed.
Once a year there is a Feast of St Francis Xavier, which is also well-attended.

There are hundreds of small and big Churches and chapels scattered all over Goa and they lend Goa a mystical quality.
One sees small white chapels dotting the villages, along tree-lined winding roads.
These chapels are well-maintained by local people, who keep them clean, light candles and offer fresh flowers every day.
Every village has about a dozen of these, built with painstaking care and religious zeal, under Portuguese rule.
The Portuguese left in 1961, and Goa formally joined the Indian Republic, but their memories live on....and are a treat for us to see.

The Church of St Francis Xavier is in Old Goa, about 30 km from Panjim, the capital city of Goa State.
Just across this Church, in the midst of a beautiful garden, is a small Cathedral.
There are many graves of Portuguese nobles and other eminent men of the times, covered with very finely decorated floorings.
Next to the Cathedral, is a huge Museum, housing life-sized portraits of all the Portuguese Governors who ruled Goa during the 450-year old foreign rule, and other historical artefacts.