St. Diogo’s Church Guirim Sangolda Parish

St. Diogo is the Patron of Guirim and Sangolda villages. The Church structure traces its origin back to the fifteenth century. Constructed in 1604 A.D., this beautiful church was founded by Fr. Miguel de S. Boaventura, a Franciscan missionary and Chief Custodian (Custos e Comissario Geral). Diogo Lobo (Captain of Bardez) and his brother Fr. Joao de S. Mathias, a Franciscan missionary, undertook the task of establishing the new church. St. Diogo was chosen as the patron saint at the insistence of Diogo Lobo. Both villagers of Guirim and Sangolda helped in establishing this church.

The distinctive features of this church are many. The main altar is dedicated to the patron St. Diogo and on either side is St. Anthony of Padua and St. Francis of Assisi. There are 5 other ornate altars located in the nave. The altar on the left hand side is dedicated to Infant Jesus and on the right is dedicated to Our Lady of Rosary. The Church used to have three bells, two belonging to Sangolda and one to Guirim. Three arched doors lead into the church, while a smaller arched door leads to the sacristy. There is also a side entrance on the Guirim side. There are many stories about this church and the people of the two villages. This one is of the 3 bells. As the church is shared between 2 villages, legend has it that the elders decided that the villagers who install the bell will claim the rights. When they were working on the church it was very late and it was decided that they sleep it over and start the work on the bells next day. The Guirim villagers went home but the cunning Sangolda villagers worked through the night and installed 2 of the 3 bells and rang them aloud waking both the villages. Hence Sangolda claims 2 bells of the church.