oldest Christian churches in West
Bengal , India . It stands as a
memorial to the Portuguese
settlement in Bengal . Founded in
1599, it is dedicated to Nossa
Senhora do Rosário, Our Lady of
the Rosary . It is one of the most
prominent historical churches in
West Bengal as well as in India.
Around the middle of the 16th
century, the Portuguese began
using Bandel as a port . During or
around 1571, they were given
permission by Akbar, the Mughal
emperor, to build a town in
Hooghly. As they began settling
around the area, their priests
began to baptise the natives - by
1598, Catholics in Hooghly
numbered around five thousand,
including natives and mixed races.
In 1579, the Portuguese built a port
on the banks of the Hooghly , as
well as a fort, and enlisted the
services of a band of Augustinian
Friars, then the largest religious
body in Goa . The following year,
Captain Pedro Tavares obtained the
emperor's full permission to preach
the Catholic faith publicly, and
erect churches. Thus the Bandel
Church came to be constructed in
1599.
This first church was burnt down
during the sacking of Hooghly by
the Moors in 1632. A newer
church, constructed by Gomez de
Soto (also spelt John Comes de
Soto), was built over the ruin in
1660. The keystone of the older
church can still be seen on the
eastern gate of the monastery.
The November 25, 1988, Pope
John Paul II declared the sanctuary
a minor basilica.
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