The Church in Neura is dedicated to St John the Evangelist and the parish celebrates the feast on December 27, the feast day of the patron.
THE ORIGIN
According to Mons. F. Xavier Gomes Catao (1952) and Anuario da Arquidiocese de Goa e Damao (1933), the first church in Neura was constructed in 1541, much before the arrival of the Jesuits in Goa. There is an inscription in Portuguese on a grave under the main altar which goes thus: Em memoria da Cova perpetua que a familia dos Noronhas Gancares de Neura o Grande tinha outroar aqui na capela-mor desta igreja de Neura – Pan e A. M. 1542. (In memory of the perpetual grave that the family of Noronhas Gancares de Neura the Great had here in the main chapel of this church of Neura – Pan and A. M. 1542).
The Church here was under the care of the Jesuits till 1622, then they handed it over to the Augustinians, who had come to Goa in November 1614 but others say that they came to Goa in 1572. The reason for Jesuits handing over to the Augustinians could be that they had no presence here and they were asking for a Church.
On arriving here, the Augustinians constructed a Seminary on a hill in Pilar in 1622 and dedicated it to St John the Evangelist. In 1624, the church was reconstructed. The Augustinians did not favour this place since it did not favour their health and it was quite a distance from Old Goa, so they closed the Seminary and sent the seminarians to some other places. The Augustinians took care of the parish for about 152 years, then in 1776, they handed it over to the diocesan clergy.
The top storey of the frontispiece of the Neura church collapsed in the mid-nineties and it was rebuilt with shortened height. In the church compound mounted on a high pedestal is the image of Christ the King. The parochial house is to the right of the church and to the left is the cemetery.
THE CHURCH
The present structure of the Church displays a blend of Portuguese and Goan architectural elements. It is a single-nave, rectangular edifice featuring a vaulted chancel, typical of Indo-European architecture introduced during Portuguese rule in Goa. The building is constructed of stone masonry, with a tiled roof. The chancel, built in the Portuguese style, forms the focal point of the interior. It is flanked by two towers. On the front portion of the façade encased is the statue of the patron, St John the Evangelist.
THE ALTARS
The main altar is dedicated to St John the Evangelist. Above the altar is a frame of the risen Lord and to his either side are the images of St Peter and St Paul. Below the altar on both the sides are paintings of two doves each. There are two altars on the sides; the one to the right is dedicated to Nossa Senhora de Enfermos, above the image of our Lady, is the image of the Assumption of Our Lady; the one to the left is dedicated to Bom Jesus, the Good Jesus and below it is the image of Sacred Heart of Jesus. Besides this there are two other altars, the altar to the right is dedicated to St Anne and below is the image of Purgatory, the one to the left is dedicated to Our Lady of Piety.
The chapels that come under its jurisdiction are the Our Lady of Miracles Chapel and St Sebastian Chapel.
