Mae De Deus Church

In North Goa, some distance east of the popular Calangute Beach is the town of Saligao. At Saligao Circle, as one looks to the west, one sees an old church which looks like a magical castle straight out of a fairytale. The pointed spires of this church immediately attract one's attention. It is called Mae De Deus Church.

The foundation stone of this church was laid in 1867 and it was inaugurated in 1873. The church was built in the Neo-Gothic style and is probably the only one in Goa which displays this style of architecture. The church has an interesting connection with Old Goa.

Once upon a time, Old Goa (also known as Velha Goa) was the capital of the Portuguese possessions in India. Eventually the capital was shifted to Panaji. When Old Goa was the capital, it had two important suburbs: Daugim and Panelim. At Daugim, there was the 16th-century church and convent of Mae De Deus. Eventually, after the shift of power from Old Goa to Panaji in the 19th century, the buildings at Old Goa fell into neglect and disrepair and several of them turned to ruins.

The church at Daugim had a statue of Mae De Deus (which means Mother of God). When the church fell into ruins, the statue survived and was shifted to Saligao where another church of the same name was built. Today, the Church of Mae De Deus at Saligao has this statue on its altar. This statue is an important historical link between Daugim and Saligao.