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Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception

Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception
Overview
Built in a Portuguese Baroque style, the church is located on a slight elevation, on a hillock. It is known to house the second largest church bells in Goa. These bells are known to have been removed from the Augustinian ruins of the Church of Our Lady of Grace that existed in Old Goa.
The Immaculate Conception Church was originally built in 1541 but was replaced by a much larger structure in the 1600s. The facade of the church is painted an immaculate white with a double flight of stairs zigzagging to the hilltop where it is located. The view of the sunset and the church lit up at night is a soothing sight to witness.

The church attracts a throng of locals and tourists on the festival of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception which is held on 8th December each year.
History
The Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception was built at the time when the area was occupied by the Portuguese settlements and there existed only small Portuguese villages. The chapel was built in 1541 to cater to the religious needs of the Portuguese sailors mainly. Later, the small chapel became Parish in 1600 and very soon after, an imposing structure was established in 1609, that exists till date. Over the years, different structures like the zigzag staircase and the large bells etc. were added to the church to make it look like its current state.
Architecture of Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
Boasting of a Portuguese Baroque style of architecture, the outer facade of the church is painted an extremely bright white to represent the Virgin Mary. The bell tower or the belfry has the famous Augustinian bells installed there, which are now known to be the second largest bells of their kind in all of Goa. The central building has two tower-ets with the belfry emerging from between. This is also known as the ‘crown’ of Panjim.

The interior structure of the church is known to be really colourful but is not really as extravagant as compared to the other big churches around here. The main altar is dedicated to Mother Mary. The main altar is flanked by two other altars on either side, the left one of which is dedicated to Jesus' Crucifixion and the right on is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary. On either side of these altars are statues of St. Peter and St. Paul. In addition to this, there is also a statue of St. Francis Xavier.

Feast of Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception
A grand festival is held every year at the Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception on the 8th of December. On this day, a grand fair is held as part of the festivities. In addition to that, the church is lit up with bright lights and is decorated with blue and white flowers all over, which represent the colours of Mother Mary, whom the church is named after. After the prayers and processions, there are also music band performances and firework display.