page_title: Goan Catholics
section_title: Portuguese era
hierarchical_section_title: Goan Catholics / History / Portuguese era
caption_attribution_description: English: Se Cathedral, Old Goa. Norsk bokmål: Se-katedralen i Gamle Goa.
context_page_description: Goan Catholics are an ethno-religious community of Christians following the Roman Rite from the state of Goa on the west coast of India. They are Konkani people and speak the Konkani language.
  Seafarers from Portugal arrived in Goa in 1510 CE, and Catholic missionary activities soon followed, as Pope Nicholas V had enacted the Papal bull Romanus Pontifex in 1455 CE which granted the patronage of the propagation of the Christian faith in Asia to the Portuguese.
  Their culture is an amalgam of Indian-Hindu and Portuguese-Christian cultures, with the latter having a more dominant role as Goa had been an overseas colony of Portugal from 1510–1961. The notion of Goan identity as a distinct culture among other Luso-Asians or Luso-Indian cultures was forged into India after the annexation of Goa in 1961. However, contemporary Goan Catholic culture can be best described as an increasingly Anglicised Indo-Latin culture and is widely seen as distinct, both in India and the rest of the world.
context_section_description: The Portuguese came to India with the ambition of capturing the Asian trade to Europe through the Arab world and by-passing the traditional Silk Route from China to Europe. They also hoped to create an empire and propagate Christianity. The Portuguese first reached the west coast of India in 1498 when Vasco da Gama landed at Calicut. On 25 November 1510 Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur and made it their headquarters since 1530. By 1544 the Portuguese conquered the districts of Bardez, Tiswadi, and Salcette. Around the same time Pope Nicholas V enacted the Papal bull Romanus Pontifex. This bull granted the patronage ("Padroado") of the propagation of the Christian faith in Asia to the Portuguese and rewarded them a trade monopoly in newly discovered areas. Trade was initiated shortly after Vasco da Gama arrived in India in 1498, but the Portuguese were initially not interested in converting the locals. The Catholic Church was granted the responsibility of missionising in Asia, and all missionaries had to call at lisbon before departing for Asia. In Goa different orders were designated different areas, with the internationally powerful Society of Jesus or Jesuits granted to Salsette province in the South, and the Franciscans granted the northern province of Bardez. Carmelites, Dominicans, and Augustinians were also present in Portuguese Goa.
  In 1534 the Diocese of Goa was created from the Diocese of Funchal to serve as a common diocese for the western coast of India, including Goa and the area in and around Bombay. Missionaries of the newly founded Society of Jesus were sent to Goa; the Portuguese colonial government supported the Catholic mission with incentives for baptised Christians. They offered rice donations for the poor, good positions in the Portuguese colonies for the middle class, and military support for local rulers. Many Indians were converted opportunistic Rice Christians who continued to practise their old religion. The Portuguese, in their efforts to keep Christian purity, insisted the converts should avoid anything Hindu. Portuguese rulers insisted the natives should adopt foreign food habits and dress. They also gave European names to the natives. But Konkani Christians wanted to preserve their language, culture and manners. At the same time the Portuguese colonizers in Goa imposed excessive taxes on the native Christians. The taxes were so huge that in 1642 some native Goans sent a memorandum to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal.
  In 1542 St. Francis Xavier of the Society of Jesus arrived in Goa and noticed the newly converted Christians were practising their old (often pagan) customs and traditions.
  The Portuguese built various churches; the most notable are Basilica of Bom Jesus (Basílica of Child Jesus) built during the sixteenth century—a UNESCO World Heritage Site dedicated to the Infant Jesus—and the Se Cathedral, the largest church in Asia dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria, the construction of which was started in 1562 during the reign of King Dom Sebastião and completed in 1619. It was consecrated in 1640. The Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church (Nossa Senhora da Imaculada Conceição Igreja) was built in 1540. The Church and Convent of St. Francis of Assisi (Igreja e Convento de São Francisco de Assis), Church of Lady of Rosary (Igreja da Senhora do Rosário), Church of St. Augustine (Igreja de Santo Agostinho), and St. Michael's Church, Anjuna (Igreja São Miguel em Anjuna), built in 1613, were also erected during the Portuguese reign.
caption: The Sé Cathedral dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria, in Old Goa, was built by the Portuguese in 1510. It is one of the oldest churches in Goa and one of the largest in Asia. It also holds a miraculous cross that is venerated to date.
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