Saint Michaels Church was built by the Dominicans in 1544according to the Goan Historian F X Gomes Catao. It is also said that theDominicans resided at the parish only in the year 1548. In the year 1776, thechurch was handed over to the Diocesan Clergy. Situated in the West coast inthe Central Zone of Goa and falling under the Panjim Deanery, this Parish isone of the largest Catholic populated parishes in Goa. The Parish has a mixedpopulation with lot of settlers from other parts of Goa and especially on theDona Paula Plateau as well as on the main land.
The church celebrates a feast unique to itself called theharvest feast, which dates back to the Portuguese Regime and is an integralpart of the history of the church. The village enjoyed the pre-eminence of beingthe first in the entire Tiswadi taluka to have been given the privilege ofcutting and presenting the first sheaves of corn to the Portuguese GovernorGeneral, in recognition of help given by the villagers to the Portuguesetroops, led by Alfonso de Albuquerque, the Portuguese Admiral. This originatedin the year 1510, when the troops were starving for food, after being defeatedby Ismail Adil Shah, the Muslim King of Bijapur Empire. Ever since then, thefirst sheaves of grain are ceremoniously cut in Taleigao at the yearly HarvestFestival on August 21. True to tradition, the Taleigao parish celebrates theharvest feast or ‘Festa de Espiga’, on August 21, and the feast of the patronon the first Sunday of October.
The Chapel of Blessed Sacrament was annexed in 2006 duringthe tenure of Father Carmo Martins. The present parish priest, Father ConceicaoD’Silva, took the initiative of renovating the church along with the parochialhouse and church office. He says, “The people here are cooperative and generous.The Basic Christian Communities (BCC) are very active and there are 22 of thesecommunities. They help in the cleaning of the church as well as visiting theaged and the sick.”
Another service held at the church, catering to allreligions and communities is the Charismatic Healing Service held every Friday.The service caters to Hindus and Muslims as well as Catholics. Father Conceicaosays, “It is a very united and passionate community. The youth is equallyvibrant and mass every day, let alone Sundays, is always packed. With Christmascoming up they have already started making arrangements for the mass. Theparticipation is truly commendable.”
