The Rachol Seminary Goa

The Rachol Seminary Goa is a place of great spiritual significance for the denizen s of Goa.It endorsed Hinduism, Islam and Christianity in Goa.Rachol is only 7 kms away from the economic township of Margao. Raia is a tiny settlement in Rachol and you will find the seminary on the apex of a tiny hillock in that village. The seminary is encased by the rice paddocks and the remnants of an aged Muslim fort.

The Rachol Seminary Goa was a Muslim fortress which was converted into a church by the Portuguese and thereafter changed to a prison. The Rachol Seminary in Goa was initially a seminal centre for Theological Studies in the 16th century. The church was constructed in the year 1576 and was dedicated to Saint Ignatius Loyola who was the founder of the Jesuit order which is upheld even today by followers of the Christian faith. In 1762, the erected structure was later converted to a Diocesan seminary. The seminary housed the first printing press which was to generate Christian spiritual literatures. This press had the capacity to generate 16 journals and the most well-known of them was the Gospels conversion to Indian language. In this context, it ought be referred that even some Hindu sculptures were unearthed when the seminary was constructed.

The Seminary played a pivotal role in endorsing Christianity in India since its inception. The complex was built by the Jesuits in 1610 AS and it used to house a hospital and a school for the poor. Apart from this, the seminary also had an educational school to train the priests.The Rachol Seminary Goa is in addition famous for its distinctive architecture. One will find the well carved sculpture of Saint Constantine, the first Roman Emperor who got converted to Christianity. The seminary also housed the Museum of Christian Art that displays the artefacts collected from all corners of the state of Goa.