India - Wooden Statue of St. Francis Xavier

Wooden statue of St. Francis Xavier, Old Goa (Velha Goa).

Sent by Raghav from India.

"Church of St. Francis of Assisi is situated to the west of Se Cathedral in the Convent of St. Francis of Assisi. These were made by the Franciscan mendicants, 8 of whom came to Goa in 1517 AD. It was initially a chapel and modified into a church in 1521 AD, dedicated to the Holy Spirit on 2nd August 1602. To begin with, the convent was made by the mendicants as their residence and underwent alterations in 1559 AD. The Portuguese government closed the convent in 1835 AD. The church has been converted into a museum by the Archaeological Survey of India in 1964. The church displays artifacts, paintings and pieces of Hindu temple sculptures from Goa.

The architecture is a combination of the Tuscan style from the exterior and the Mosaic-Corinthian style from the interior. The interior of the church is gilded with the scenes from the Bible and wall frescoes show intricate floral designs. The niche of the façade holds the statue of St Michael and a wooden statue of St Francis Assisi decorates the pedestal in one of its chapel. A heavily carved niche with tabernacle supported by four evangelists can be seen in the main altar. Two huge statues, one of St Francis Assisi and the other of the Jesus on the Cross, are placed above the tabernacle." (Source)