Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church

Immaculate Conception refers to the belief that God protected Virgin Mary from the taint of original sin from the moment she was biologically conceived by her mother St. Anne. In other words, Mary was blessed with 'sanctifying grace' that normally is delivered during baptism after birth. The long-held solemn belief was later converted into a formal dogma by the then Pope in 1854. Immaculate Conception should not be mistaken, though it often is, to the event of conception of Jesus Christ by Mother Mary, which commands a separate doctrine of incarnation. The church celebrates the Feast of Immaculate Conception annually on 8th December that is 9 months prior to the Nativity of Mary or the birth of Virgin Mary.

One of the biggest imposing landmarks in Panaji, Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception Church dates back to 1541 C.E. It was first constructed as a chapel and then rebuilt as a church in its current form in the year 1609 C.E. The church faces the Indian Ocean. Back in those days, when Panjim was just another fishing town and a port, Portuguese sailors would visit the church before proceeding to the then capital of Old Goa. Located on Dada Vaidhya Road, the Baroque style church offers mass service every day in Konkani (07:00 am and 06:00 pm) and English (08:00 am). It also offers Portuguese service on Sundays at 10:30 am. As a tourist, you could also go for a visit between 10:00 am to 12:30 pm (Sundays between 11:00 am to 12:30 pm) or in the afternoons between 03:00 pm to 05:30 pm.