Pilar Seminary, Goa

The Capuchin monks founded the Seminary in 1613. They established a center of learning along with the Church, which was named after Our Lady of Pilar, whose statue they had brought along with them from Spain.

The beautiful old Church at the Seminary has an exquisite baroque doorway made out of carved stone. A niche above the doorway holds a statue of St Francis of Assissi and the door has on it a carving of two crossed hands, symbolizing Christ and St Francis. The tomb of Fr Agnelo d´Souza, who was the spiritual director of the seminary (1918-27), lies inside.

Around a small garden inside, there are cloisters decorated with seventeenth-century frescoes. There is an interesting pictorial depiction of the history of the world, drawn by a missionary in the 1940s and a reredos with Franciscan saints in the niches.

The new seminary, which opened in 1942 for the training of priests to be sent all over India, lies at the top of the hill. There is a small museum, which houses fragments of pottery and temple sculpture excavated from the site including a lion – the Kadamba symbol, Portuguese coins, and a beautiful carving of Mary Magdalene done in 1733 by a Goan sculptor. There are also some palm-leaf manuscripts and a copy of the first Marathi translation of the Gospel.

History

Pilar Seminary is one among the two surviving seminaries out of the four originally built by the Portuguese. This stands on a hillock at Goa Velha, which was once the capital of the famous Kadamba dynasty and was known as Gopakapattam.
The Capuchin monks founded the Seminary in 1613. A University of Science, Arts, and Theology was established in the premises of the Pilar Monastery in 1633. They also built Our Lady of Pilar Church. The Pilar Monastery will complete 400 years in July 2013.

Architecture

The beautiful Seminary features a marble platform, altar, and amazingly beautiful stained windows which were built in Germany. The beautiful old Church at the Seminary has an exquisite baroque doorway made out of carved stone. A niche above the doorway holds a statue of St Francis of Assisi and the door has on it a carving of two crossed hands, symbolizing Christ and St Francis.
The tomb of Fr Agnelo d´Souza, who was the spiritual director of the seminary lies inside. Around a small garden inside, there are cloisters decorated with 17th-century frescoes. There is a small museum, which houses fragments of pottery and temple sculpture excavated from the site including a lion - the Kadamba symbol, Portuguese coins, and a beautiful carving of Mary Magdelene done in 1733 by a Goan sculptor.