Information a
bout The Chapel Of St.Catherine Goa
Location: Old Goa
State: Goa
Capital: Panji
Language: Konkani, Hindi, English, Marathi
Temperature: Max 33˚C, Min 26˚C (summer), Max 26˚C, Min 14˚C (winter)
Best Season: March to June
How to Reach:
By Air :
Dabolim is the main entry point for Goa situated at a distance of around 29 km from Panaji on the coast near Vasco da Gama. Most domestic airlines operate in Goa apart from chartered private airlines operating from UK and Germany. Indian Airlines has direct flights from Delhi and Mumbai daily. Air India also flies to Goa.
By Rail :
It is not difficult to reach Goa by trains, especially after opening of the Konakan Railway that connects Margao and Vasco da Gama to major cities in India. You can take trains from Delhi 1,874 km), Mumbai (490km), and Bangalore (430 km) to reach Goa comfortably. From the railway stations, you can hire taxis and motorcycle taxis to reach the desired destinations.
By Road:
Goa, Maharashtra, and Karnataka state transport corporations operate from the Kadamba bus stand at Panaji. Frank Shipping operates a boat service between Mumbai and Panaji.
Further to the west of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi is the chapel of St. Catherine. Built of laterite blocks it has a tower on either side of the façade. The chapel in the interior, having only one altar is plain.
Construction of The Chapel
The chapel was rebuilt in 1552 on the remains of an earlier structure, built in 1510 by Afonso de Albuquerque to commemorate his entry into the city on St. Catherine’s Day. The earlier chapel was enlarged in 1550 by the Governor George Cabral, who put up an inscribed slab, which when translated, reads as follows: “Here in this place was the doorway through which Governor Afonso de Albuquerque entered and took this city from the Mohammadans on the day of St. Catherine in the year 1510 at the expenses of his Highness.” Thus the chapel was built on the spot where stood the gates of this city under the Muslim rule.
This chapel was raised to the state of the cathedral by Pope Paul III by a Bull issued in 1534 and it remained so till the new Cathedral was constructed.