Panaji: A 450-year-old church in Goa has been restored and ready for public worship in the coming week.
The Church of Santa Monica is a part of the convent of Santa Monica, Asia’s first and largest convent situated in Old Goa , and a state protected monument.
The church that boasts of exquisite altars, pulpit, miraculous crucifix, statues, paintings and art objects was in desperate need of repair and restoration.
The Archbishop of Goa and Daman will open the church to the public on June 11.
The Museum of Christian Art, Goa, with aid from the directorate of archives and archaeology carried out the restoration work. The state government had proposed a grant of 13 million rupees in two phases.
The restoration work on the building involved removal of the cement plaster from the walls, internally and externally, and replacing it with mud and lime plaster, rebuilding of the entire roof and removal of the damaged red cement flooring to reveal the original stone flooring.
The removal of the damaged wooden pulpit revealed the original beautiful carved stone pulpit and the graffiti work surrounding it. Extensive work was carried out on the altars as the wood had decayed either due to ingress of moisture or termite attack. Statues and paintings were also salvaged and original graffiti was discovered under layers of lime wash, which have been restored, reports The Times of India.
The technical assistance of conservation architect Ketak Nachinolkar and two internationally recognized art restorers, the late Miguel Mateus and Jose Pestana of Portugal was sought. The experts carried out in-depth study of the state of the church building, its altars, pulpit, statues and paintings and the extent of deterioration.
It will now be open to worshipers for veneration at the Miraculous Cross also known as the Weeping Cross and other visitors who would like to appreciate the artistic and architectural beauty of the church. It will also be a venue for sacred music concerts and art exhibitions organized by the Museum of Christian Art.