The Basilica of Bom Jesus

This Church was raised to the rank of Minor Basilica on 20th March 1948 and was proclaimed as such on 3rd December of the same year. The foundation stone was laid on 24th November 1594 and it was consecrated on 15th May 1605 by Dom Aleixo Menezes, the Archbishop of Goa. The Church is of laterite stone and the exterior of the walls is without plaster. The Church is dedicated to "Bom Jesus" meaning Good Jesus. The relics of the body of St. Francis Xavier are kept in this Church.

The Church is Cruciform. Its façade, which is facing the West, is the combination of the Doric, lonic and Corinthian orders. The main entrance is flanked by two smaller doors each having Corinthian Columns. The Church is 55.77 meters long. 16.76 meters broad and 18.59 meters high. The transept of the Church ends on each side with a Chapel. To the left is the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament guarded by a huge arch and strong Corinthian pillars. From 1623 the relics of St. Francis Xavier were kept in this Chapel and were transferred to the Mausoleum in 1660.

On the main altar of the Basilica stands a huge statue of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus.

To the right of the transcept is the marble Mausoleum which was gifted by the Duke of Tuscany Cosmas II and was made by a Florentine Sculptor, Giovanni Batista Foginni. The Silver Casket was made through the initiative of Fr. Marcello Mastrilli, an Italian Jesuit. The Crystal glass Urn, made in Rome and containing the relics of the Body of St. Francis Xavier was placed in the Silver Casket on 13th February 1955. The old wooden coffin, in which were placed the relics of the body of St. Francis Xavier, is now kept at the entrance of the Sacristy for public viewing.