OUR LADY OF HEALTH CHURCH - SANCOALE
Pilgrimage
Distance (From Kadamba Bus Terminus): 20 Kms
Commonly Visited From: Velsao Beach (5.5 kms)
Trip Duration (From Velsao Beach , Including Travel): 1 Hour
Place Location: Sancole
Transportation Options: Cab / Auto / Rental Bike
Travel Tips: This place is usually visited from Velsao Beach (5.5 kms)
At a distance of 20 km from Panjim Kadamba Bus Stand, 30 km from Vasco Da Gama Railway Station and 21 km from Margao Railway Station, Our Lady of Health Church is situated in South Goa.
Our Lady of Health Church at Sancoale is also known as Nossa Senhora de Saude Church. The Jesuit missionaries came by the way of Sancoale in 1560 and deciding to settle there. By way of commemorating their occupation they established the Nossa Senhora de Saude Church. The first Church of Sancoale was founded in 1606 and dedicated to Our Lady of Health. The construction of the church was completed in 1566 on the site of an earlier Hindu temple of Laxmi Narasimha. The Church building caught fire in 1834.
Today only a part of the church's facade stands on the banks of the Zuari River. The erstwhile Portuguese Government had declared it a national monument on 19.3.1937. The Patron of Goa Blessed Joseph Vaz wrote his famed ''Letter of Bondage'' at this church in 1677.
The facade of the church is typical of early Christian-Goan architecture with composite Corinthian pilasters and bas-reliefs all over the place. The fan shaped quadrants are a variation on the quarter circle type; they are in the form of a nice free flowing curve. This can be seen even from the Agassaim - Cortalim Bridge. Behind it is the new chapel of Our Lady of Health which was built in 1783 by Rev. Fr. Proto Faria.
