Sancoale is a census town in

South Goa district South Goa district is one of two districts that comprises the state of Goa, India, within the region known as the Konkan. It is bounded by North Goa district to the north, the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka state to the east and south, whil ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

. It falls within the Sub-District of

Mormugão Mormugao is a seaport city situated in the eponymous Mormugao taluka (municipality) of the South district, in the Goa state, India. It has a deep natural harbour and remains Goa's chief port. Towards the end of the Indo-Portuguese era in 1 ...

and the

Velhas Conquistas {{Unreferenced, date=November 2008 ''As Velhas Conquistas'' or "the Old Conquests" are a grouping of the areas in Goa which were incorporated into Portuguese India early in the sixteenth century AD; as these areas underwent urbanisation they were ...

region. It is famous for being the hometown of

Joseph Vaz Joseph Vaz ( Konkani: ''San Zuze Vaza''; pt, São José Vaz; kn, ಪವಿತ್ರಾ ಯೋಸೆಫ್ ವಾಸ್ ಸಂತರು ''Pavitra Yoseph Vaz Santaru''; ta, புனித யோசேப் வாஸ் முனிவர் ...

, the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of Sri Lanka.

Churches

Igreja de Nossa Senhora de Saúde (1560)

It is also known as Our Lady of Health Church or the Old Church of Sancoale, in English. It was built by Jesuit missionaries who arrived at Sancoale in 1560 to settle there. By way of commemorating, their occupation they established the a chapel of Nossa Senhora de Saúde. The construction of the chapel was completed in 1566 and it was elevated to the level of a church in. The Church building caught fire in 1834, and today only a part of the church's façade stands on the banks of the Zuari River, and can be seen even from the Agassaim – Cortalim Bridge. The façade of the church is typical of early

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...

with composite Corinthian pilasters and bas-reliefs. The fan shaped quadrants are a variation on the quarter circle type form of a free flowing curve. Behind it is the new chapel of Our Lady of Health which was built in 1783 by Rev. Fr. Proto Faria. The Portuguese Government had declared it a national monument on 19-Mar-1937. The Patron of Goa Blessed

wrote his famed ''Letter of Bondage'' at this church in 1677. A newer chapel of Our Lady of Health was built behind the façade, in 1783, by Rev. Fr. Proto Faria.

2020 Saffron Controversy

On December 30, 2020, a group of

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

immigrants trespassed the premises of the Old Church in order to perform Hindu rituals. These Hindus were met with resistance from the local residents. (Sancoale's native

Goan Goans ( kok, गोंयकार, Romi Konkani: , pt, Goeses) is the demonym used to describe the people native to Goa, India, who form an ethno-linguistic group resulting from the assimilation of Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Indo-Portuguese, an ...

population is entirely Catholic). However, the Goa police refused to file a

First Information Report __NOTOC__ A first information report (FIR) is a document prepared by police organisations in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asian countries including Myanmar, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan when they receive information about the commissio ...

on the incident.

Igreja de Nossa Senhora de Saúde (1606)

A newer and larger church, with the same name was built inland in 1606.

Geography

The average elevation is 41 metres (135 feet).

Demographics

As of

2011 Indian census The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, Sancoale had a population of 21,923. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Sancoale has an average literacy rate of 86.61% lower than state average of 88.70%. Male literacy rate is 91.54%, and female literacy rate is 80.93%. In Sancoale, 12.28% of the population is under 6 years of age.

References

Cities and towns in South Goa district {{Goa-geo-stub