CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, MOIRA

It was founded in 1636 by the Franciscan fathers, the expenses being paid for by the village ganvkars.

 IMAGE COLLECTION

Giovanni d’Cunha, 2010  (giovannidcunha.wordpress.com)

Giovanni d’Cunha, 2010  (giovannidcunha.wordpress.com)

Sebash1979 (Goanchurches.com)

Janet Aschenbrener, 2010 (Picasa)

 

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(Google Images)

 SOURCES OF INFORMATION

It was founded in 1636 by the Franciscan fathers, the expenses being paid for by the village ganvkars. The structure underwent major changes in its different sections, over four different occasions. The frontal-façade of the church was rebuilt in 1800, the Capela-Mor in 1814, the main body of the church in 1832 and the last being in 1838, when the new belfry was constructed in order to accommodate the newly acquired bell. More...

One of the uniquely Goan innovations in church architecture was an optical illusion. The churches shown in the photos here seem to have a large dome crowning the apex. The churches are Santo Aleixo (St.Alex) at Calangute, Santo Estevão (St.Stephen) at Juem and N.Sra da Imaculada Conçeicão at Moira. In this type of a cupoliform façade, the usual fronton of the pedimental or gable type is replaced by a wall which is slightly curved in plan on the façade side and having a dome shape in elevation.. This fronton has three levels like a regular cupola - drum, calotte and lantern. It is built in solid masonry but gives the illusion of a three dimensional dome. If you look closely at the false domes, you can see that the surface of the calotte is punctuated with ribs in shallow relief to complete the illusion! More...

The Church dedicated to Our Lady of Immaculate Conception has a few statues of great artistic and historical value. This includes an Ecce Home statue - a Crucifix with four nails, two nails for Christ's two feet, which stands sturdy in the Church cemetery. This statue was brought from the Franciscan convent in Old Goa. In 1835, at a public auction the grand bell of the church was bought and to accommodate it, an enlarged belfry was erected in 1839. Interestingly, a Shiva linga which was once used as a pedestal for the holy water basin at the entrance of the church was noticed by an archeologist and now lies in the Archeological Museum at Old Goa. More...