Chapel of St. Francis of Assisi - Monte de Guirim, Goa.

CHAPEL OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI - Monte de Guirim.

Photo/Watercolour Rendering & Article by Tony Fernandes 

Ex-student Batch of 1964.

Plateau of peace and tranquility - where stands the Chapel of St.Francis of Assisi, patron saint of St. Anthony’s High School - famously known as Monte de Guirim and an ideal quiet place for prayer, solace, comfort and inspiration and daily Holy Mass and retreats for students and people of the villages around.

In front of this beautiful chapel stands the white Cross with its unique balustrade facing the vast fields down below and in the distance with a panoramic view of the fields and villages towards the west, and as far as one’s eyes can see, stretching from Saligao, Calangute, Baga, Arpora, Nagoa, Parra and Arjuna, complemented by a beautiful backdrop of the Arabian Sea and hills beyond. Once upon a time on the right side of this cross, stood for generations a gigantic nunerca tree. This tree was a legend in its lifetime. It was like a mother that sheltered and protected her children under her huge benevolent arms from the hot sun and rain.  For the physical training exercise, boys lined up for the “drill” under this legendary tree. In the afternoon some students played games while others read books, sang and played guitar. Mission Sunday event was held on this mini plateau. The branch roots of this giant tree were very cleverly nurtured back into the earth with soil around them in tin pipes, thereby providing support for itself. Though botanists tried to save it, the old tree sadly did not survive. But a new one that was immediately planted in its place soon grew to its full size and provided a nostalgic solace and reminiscence to the visiting scholars of the old days.