A legacy of Portuguese settlement in Bangal | A complete tour guide Bandel Church or Basilica of the Holy Rosary, Hooghly, West Bengal
The name suggested a Bandel, came from the Bengali word Bandar which means "Port" in English. Since it is the port of Hooghly when the Portuguese arrived following my Mughals. Bandel Church (Basilica) and Monastery was the only relic of Portugues Settlement on the banks of the Hooghly river. The present church and monastery are said to be built in 1660 by Gomez de Soto having the keystone of the old church bearing the date 1599 over the eastern gate of the monastery. Center of Attraction is a tall ship mast that was placed in front of the church by the captain of a vessel that had encountered a storm in the Bay of Bengal and saved by the grace of Virgin Marry. There is a statue of "One lady of Happy Voyage" in the middle of the church. There are three altars, a small organ, and several tombstones. Pope II has declared the Bandel Church as Basilica in 1988. Now it is a functional parish church attached to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Culcutta. The church has be
