Church of St Anne
Talaulim, Old Goa  · Easy Activity

The Church of Saint Anne also known as Santana Church at Talaulim was founded in the year 1577. The present day Church was reconstructed by Mons Francisco do Rego with his own money. Due to some unforeseen circumstances he could not complete the construction. The church was completed by Father Antonio Francisco da Cunha in 1695. Then Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage has been working on the restoration of this 432-year Old Church.

The Church architectural style is classified as Indian Baroque style. This makes the church a rare piece of architecture in India. The Church has a unique cylindrical roof structure. In the transept of the church directed towards the altar is a picture of St. Anne with a staff in hand and wearing a hat as she was seen in the visions. The church is located at the right bank of Siridao River. The Church was declared as the world heritage site.

The main altar is dedicated to St Anne, the Mother of Mary. There is a legend about this main altar. The Chapel constructed initially was simply being used for the conversion of nearby villagers and was not dedicated to any saint. Later one day a man claimed to have a vision of a woman walking down the hill, and she wanted to live in that church. At the same time, a Brahmin woman claimed that a similar woman had held her hand in her dream when she was very sick thus miraculously curing her. The woman had told her that her name was Anna and she wanted to reside in the monastery. The Brahmin lady graciously converted to Christianity. The whole village was stunned and the priest decided to sanctify the church in the name of St. Anne. This church initially erected as a chapel later was promoted to a church in December 1888.

The feast of St. Anne is celebrated throughout Goa on July 26th every year. In Talaulim it is celebrated with much more fun and enthusiasm and is known as Cucumber Feast or Touceachem Fest. Though introduced by the Portuguese, the Goans modified the celebrations in their own style without changing the dates.