St. Cajetan
Church
The
large and beautiful Church of St. Cajetan, lies about half a kilometer away
to the north east of the Se Cathedral, and quite near the ruins of the Viceregal
Palace. This church, which is said to have been modelled on the original design
of the Basilica of St.Peter in Rome, is architecturally Corinthian both externally
and internally while the gilded altars with rich carvings are in rich Baroque
style. The Church building itself is built of laterite blocks which are lime
plastered.
The Church of St. Cajetan as it is popularly known, (originally called The Church
of Our Lady of Divine Providence) and the Convent of St. Cajetan were built
by Italian friars of the Order of Theatines, (known in Portuguese as Clérigos
Regulares da Divina Providência). Although the church altar is dedicated
to Our Lady of Divine Providence, the church is named after the founder of the
Theatine order, St. Cajetan, a contemporary of St Francis Xavier.
In 1639, three Italians of the Order of Theatines were sent by Pope Urban VIII
to the kingdom of Golconda (near Hyderbad) to preach Christianity. They were
D. Pedro Avitabili, D. Francisco Marci and D. Antonio Maria Ardizone. The friars
were not permitted to work in Golconda, so they came to Goa on 25th October
1640.
In their new abode, they began the construction of a hospital but the local
Viceroy stopped their activities in 1643 and asked them to leave Goa in 1645.
However, D. Pedro Avitabili, their courageous leader went all the way to Portugal
to explain to the King, Dom João IV, that it would be in the interest
of Christian religion if they were allowed to work in Goa together with the
Portuguese priests.
Impressed by the determination of the Italian friar, the King gave permission
to build the hospital in 1650. In 1655, the Theatines managed to obtain permission
to build the Church and also a Convent. The construction of the Church was completed
in 1661. Although built around the same time, the Convent was much smaller in
size and was enlarged only later.
