Basilica of Bom Jesus

Located in Old Goa, India, the Basilica of Bom Jesus is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The church is called “Bom Jesus” meaning ‘good Jesus’ or ‘infant Jesus’ to whom it is dedicated.

The Basilica of Bom Jesus holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier in Goa.

The Tomb of St. Francis Xavier

In Basilica of Bom Jesus Old Goa, the body was kept on the third floor of the residential wing of Bom Jesus Church,Old Goa called Casa Professa de Bom Jesus.

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In 1622, the Catholic Church canonised Francis but the news reached Goa in 1623 and the occasion was solemnized in 1624. At that time the body of St. Francis was taken to the Chapel of St. Francis of Borgia in the Bom Jesus Church and the coffin was in a silver casket.









By 1637 the body of the Saint had been placed in a new silver casket. This casket was made by Goan silversmiths between 1636-37. There are 32 silver plates on all four sides of the casket depicting different episodes from the life of the Saint. In 1659 the silver casket was taken to the chapel opposite to the chapel of St. Francis of Borgia.

In 1698 a magnificent Florentine Mausoleum was erected in Old Goa and the silver casket containing the coffin was placed on top of it. The tomb of St. Francis Xavier has three parts, namely, the altar, the Florentine mausoleum and the silver casket.

St.Francis Xavier

St.Francis Xavier, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta, on 7th April 1506 was the sixth and last child born to Dr. Joao de Xavier and Maria d’Aspilcueta at Xavier castle, Navarra(now part of Spain).

He was a Roman Catholic missionary who preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of Asia and was the co-founder of the Society of Jesus.

Francis Xavier was beatified by Pope Paul V on 25th October 1619, and was canonized by Pope Gregory XV on 22nd March 1622.

Pope Pius XI proclaimed him the “Patron of Catholic Missions”. His feast is celebrated on 3rd December.

The body of St Francis Xavier which miraculously defied the laws of nature, of turning into dust, lies till this day in a silver casket in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa, India. Ceremonies to honor his death are performed on December 3rd, all over the World, the day he was buried.

St. Francis Xavier Missions

Impressed by the Jesuits, King John III of Portugal asked the order for missionaries to travel to Portuguese India, where the king believed that Christian values were eroding among the Portuguese. Though Loyola initially selected others for the task, Xavier stepped in when a fellow priest became ill. He left Rome on 15th March 1540 for Lisbon.

The zealous Francis now appointed by Pope as His Nuncio, for the remote East, embarks for India on 7th April 1541 and arrived in Goa on 6th May 1542.

He visited the Bishop who was highly pleased with Francis’ humility in spite of his being the Pontifical Nuncio. Leaving aside special invitations Francis chose to reside in the Royal Hospital and spent his days nursing the sick and teaching Christian doctrine.

In 1542 Francis was requested to hold the rectorship of the newly established institute named College of St. Paul, for the priestly formation of local candidates. However his heart was longing for the souls who had never a chance to listen to the message of Jesus.