Goa’s Basilica to get back red clay tile roof

The Basilica Bom Jesus at Velha in old Goa (world heritage village) will soon get back its original roof cladding. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in Goa will take up the removal of asbestos sheets and replace them with original Mangalorean tiles.

DNA had front-paged a story on the asbestos roof, which was posing a threat to Basilica’s heritage status in its edition dated May 10, 2011.

“Following that report, many things have happened. A team from ASI Delhi visited the spot and carried instructions from the director-general of ASI to take immediate steps to replace the asbestos sheets with original Mangalorean tiles. The work will begin soon,” said Dr Shivananda Rao, a senior official of ASI in Goa.

“We have ascertained that the original roofing was made of Mangalorean tiles when the Basilica was built in 1605. We have photographs of the old structure to guide us to complete the work of laying red-tiled roofing,” Rao said. “We will also replace the stones in front of the altar, which will bring the structure to its pristine glory,” he said.

The Basilica of Bom Jesus houses the mummified remains of Saint Francis Xavier, the founder of Society of Jesus, who died en route to continental China on December 2, 1552. The church was consecrated on May 15, 1605 (406 years ago) by archbishop Aleixo de Menezes. It was raised to the status of a Basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1946. In 1986, the Unesco declared it as a World Heritage Monument.

The asbestos roofing existed when Goa was liberated in 1961 and nobody knows why the Portuguese removed the Mangalorean tiles.