Se Cathedral, Cathedral in Old Goa, India
Se Cathedral is a white-plastered basilica in Old Goa measuring 76 m long and 55 m across the transept, with a 35 m frontispiece. Its surviving square tower holds five bells; the facade has a triangular pediment, three arched doorways and dark stone trim at the corners and base.
The first church on the site was built of clay, stone and straw in 1510 to mark Afonso de Albuquerque's capture of Goa on Saint Catherine's feast day; it was rebuilt in 1515 and enlarged in 1552 under governor Jorge Cabral. In 1562 viceroy Francisco Coutinho ordered a new cathedral, financed from the state treasury with proceeds from escheated Hindu and Muslim property, designed by Portuguese architects Júlio Simão and Ambrósio Argueiro. The main body was finished by 1619, consecration followed in 1640, and the chapels were completed only in 1652.
The cathedral holds fifteen altars in eight chapels; the gilded main altar is dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria, with old paintings of her life and martyrdom beside it. Six carved panels show scenes from her life. The Chapel of the Cross of Miracles keeps the cross on which Christ is said to have appeared on 23 February 1619, brought there from Boa Vista hill in 1845.
The building is freely accessible and can offer different levels of quietness depending on the time of day. It is best to visit early in the morning or late afternoon to enjoy the best light and fewer crowds.
The Golden Bell in the surviving tower was cast at Câncora in 1652 with gold added to the alloy, and its tone carries about 14 km. It was also called the Inquisition Bell: its ringing announced auto-da-fé executions on the square in front of the cathedral.
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