11/11/2024
Facade of Igreja da Nossa Senhora de Saúde which translates to the Church of Our Lady of Health.
It was built in 1606 in Sancoale village of Mormugao District in Goa. It was destroyed by a disastrous fire in 1834 and the whole church crumbled only leaving behind what is today known as the Frontispiece of Sancoale.
It remains a silent witness as centuries pass by while visitors and clergy change. It no longer operates as a church but serves as a quiet and peaceful place of reverence to reflect upon one's inner self while being seated in the well manicured green gardens around the monument.
Father Joseph Vaz used to teach Latin to students before they proceeded for college studies and was the key person for developing this church. Fr. Joseph Vaz, born in 1651 was later beatified as a "Saint" in 1995, and drafted his famed " Letter of Bo***ge " at this church in 1677, originally written in Portuguese but loosely translated to him offering himself perpetually as a slave to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to do what her Divine Son, Jesus willed with him.