Church of St. Sebastian

Church of St. Sebastian

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Located in the southern end of the city, the chapel of St. Sebastian is one of the many Goan churches which still remain exact to the old colonial decree. It stands at the end of a small square and the church came into existence in the year 1592 after missionaries converted it from a private Hindu temple. The temple which was called as "Pandavachem deul" belonged to Suntu Naique Sar Dessai, a decendant of the Pandavas. He converted to Christianity on the 29th of February 1560 along with a thousand other locals from Aquem and he changed his name to Sebastiao Coelho and hence the date of the feast of the Patron Saint was fixed on this day. In the earlier days Goa was troubled with epidemics of pests and plagues which occurred quite frequently here, especially in the Salcette areas. When people were burdened by these diseases they turned to St. Sebastian who through his mediation and miraculous interventions eliminated the recurrence of these pests and plagues altogether. The Portuguese speaking locals hold a lively annual street fiesta to celebrate their patron Saint's day in mid-November. Something very interesting in this chapel and what you can look out for is the eerily lifelike crucifix inside the chapel brought here in 1812. It was previously hung in the palace of the inquisition in Old Goa. Unusually, Christ's eyes are open - allegedly to inspire fear in those being interrogated by the inquisitors.