Basilica of Bom Jesus
The Basilica of Bom Jesus was built in 1560 in Goa by the Portuguese. It is one of the greatest churches of India where the body of St. Francis Xavier is embalmed.
The building has one of the nicest facades of black granite or red Laterite stone. The ‘Casa Professa’ of the Jesuits lies next to this world heritage monument. The Cathedral of Bom Jesus, famous among Catholics, consist of three stories, the lowest one with three entrances into the nave and aisles of the church, the middle one with rectangular windows, and the top one with circular port windows.
The Basilica of Bom Jesus is hailed as the most perfect work of baroque architecture in India. The interior is plain with commemorative plaques and statues. On the left is a sensitively carved wooden figure of St. Francis Xavier adoring the crucifix.
Today, the embalmed body lies in an airtight glass coffin positioned in a silver casket crafted by a 17th-century Florentine jeweler.
