St. Anne's ChurchBinaga
A Brief History of the Church
The history of St. Anne’s Church is quite an old one, having its origin to the Church of Our Lady of Brotas on Angediva Island. Ptolemy the Greek Scholar showed Angediva island on a map he prepared in A.D. 150. The Portuguese were the first European power to step on this island and inhabit it from 1498 up to 1961.
It is said that Vasco da Gama, on his way back to Portugal from Calicut, landed on this island on 29.9.1448 for repairs of his ships, collecting sweet water and buying foodstuff from nearby villages. Then again on 22.8.1500 Dom Pedro Alvares Cabral came with 1200 Portuguese men and the first Missionaries consisting of 8 Franciscans and 9 Diocesan Priests who evangelised 23 inhabitants of the island. At the instance of Viceroy Francisco de Almeida, the first Latin Rite Catholic Church, dedicated to Our Lady of Brotas (named after the sweet water spring – in Portuguese Brotas means a spring) was built in 1506. About 200 families were living on the island during this time. Interestingly the seed of Christian faith was sowed on this island even before the birth of St. Francis Xavier, who came to Goa in the year 1542. In the 16th Century, the Pope consecrated the Mother Church on the Angediva island by a special decree at the request of the Jesuits. The insignia of the decree can still be seen on the walls of the Church.
In 1682 Dom Francisco de Tavora Conde de Alvor reconstructed the Angediva Church in place of the old one. However the present Church building was built in 1729. After the liberation of Goa in 1961, the Church on the island was looted of its belongings including the bell. Fr. Bruno Fernandes, took the initiative and with the involvement of the Parishioners made certain repairs and painting and for the first time celebrated the feast on the island on 2.2.1983. Since then there was some activity on this island. Later on Fr. Kurian Therady, made great sacrifices to repair the Church as also the Chapel of St. Francis of Assisi. The present Parish Priest of St.Anne’s Church, Binaga continues the tradition started by Fr. Bruno Fernandes. Now the island is under the control of Naval authorities of the Govt. of India for the establishment of the prestigious Sea Bird Naval Base Project.
Initially the Church of St. Anne at Binaga was built in 1846 and was placed under the jurisdiction of Ankola. Later on it was rebuilt in 1897 and brought under the jurisdiction of Our Lady of Brotas Church, Angediva till about 1919. As per the baptismal records available in Binaga Church (from 1888), Fr. Antonio Joao de Andrade was the first resident Priest at Binaga. St. Anne’s was declared as a full-fledged Church in 1919 with Fr. Matheus Falcao as the Parish Priest.