The small Church on Sinquerim hill, overlooking the Mandovi river and the Arabian sea, is dedicated to St Lawrence, the Martyr, Sao Lourence Igreja em Sinquerim, Goa, in Portuguese; he is the patron saint of sailors. The parishioners celebrate the feast on August 10.
ORIGIN
The Portuguese Viceroy, Dom Miguel de Noronha, the fourth Count of Linhares (1588-1656), after constructing the Aguada fort, constructed a chapel, not too far from it in 1630, for the soldiers of the fort, with his own funds and donations from St Lawrence devotees.
It was under the jurisdiction of the Candolim parish. He handed it over to the Franciscans in 1636. It was upgraded to a parish in 1688. When the Franciscans left Goa in 1776, during the tenure of the archbishop Dom Antonio Taveira da Veiga Brun e Silveira, the diocese took over its administration.
In 1952, Fr Alberto Saldanha, the parish priest, restored the church building to its former glory, as it was in a dilapidated condition. He served the parish for 36 years. The parish was handed over to the members of the Order of the Friars Minor Capuchins in 1991.
CHURCH
The church building has a portico; benches are placed here on Sundays so that the faithful can participate in the Mass comfortably.
It has intricate word carvings and beautiful ornamentation that feature religious iconography representing Christian teaching and beliefs. The pillars have inscriptions from St Lawrence’s life and his martyrdom. It has two narrow towers. In the compound mounted on pedestals are statues of Christ the King and St Lawrence, put up by Fr Alberto Saldanha.
ALTARS
The middle altar is dedicated to the patron, St Lawrence, whose image is encased in a glass case. Above it are these words – Boa Viagem (Borem Poinn – Good Voyage).
To its left is the image of St John the Baptist and to the right of St Michael. The other altars, dedicated to Our Lady of Piety and St Sebastian were pulled down by Fr Saldanha to increase the seating capacity and the images were kept elsewhere.
FEAST
After the solemn Feast Mass is the blessing of the sea. The parish priest along with the parishioners gather at a pivot point overlooking the sea and he blesses the sea and prays for a good fishing season and for protection of the fishermen.
(The writer is Superior at Casa Professa, Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa)
