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Malacca ~ Porta de Santiago (A' Famosa)
& St. Paul's Church
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This ‘Porta’ which means gate in Portuguese is one of the four main gates of the larger A' Famosa" ('The Famous' in Portuguese) fortress which expanded to include the surrounding hills and nearby European settlements. It was a Christian fort city that included the governor's palace, the bishop's palace, state halls, five churches and two hospitals.
After they took over in 1670,
the gate was inscribed with 'ANNO 1670' with the coat of arms of the Dutch
East India Company. The Dutch kept the fort, but moved most of the
administrative functions to the growing city outside its walls.
This Catholic Chapel was built by Duarte Coelho (the founder of Cochin China & Olinda in Brazil.), in 1521. This was as a result of his ship's miraculous escape from an attack in the South China Sea, where Duarte Coelho and his crew were saved miraculously by a sudden storm. Successively, this chapel was
enlarged by the Portuguese, adding a second storey in 1566 and addition of a towerin
1590 to become a church. Due to the strategic location
of the church, the Dutch turned it into an extension of the A' Famosa Fort.
They installed gun embrasures with holes on the roof. Later, When the Christ
Church was established, the Dutch turned St. Paul’s Hill into a burial
ground for their noblemen. Jan Van Riebeeck was appointed as Governor of Melaka after the founding of the Dutch Settlement in South Africa. Sadly, he died in office (Stadtuys Melaka) and was buried at this tiny cemetery.
Canonization of St. Francis Xavier was done in 1614. The Pope requested St. Francis’ right forearm, which he used to bless and baptize his converts be brought to Rome, in order to be canonized. As, legends have it, when the arm was detached by Priest Gen. Claudio Acquaviva - the wound was said to have dripped blood! Anyway in 1952, a statue of St. Francis Xavier was built to commemorate the passing of the saint in Melaka from 1545 to 1552 while spreading Catholicism in this region. Originally, the statue was completely constructed with the right arm in place. However, on the morning after the consecration ceremony, a large casuarinas tree fell on it and broke off the right arm, resulted in a statue with missing arm that you see today.
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Porta de
Santiago (A' Famosa)
St. Paul's
Church
After
the Dutch wrestled Malacca from the Portuguese in 1641, they repaired and
reconstructed the church into a Dutch Reformed Church. It was renamed the
St. Paul's Church, a name which remains until today.
St. Francis used
to climb up this hill to pray in this church in his years of missionary and
was credited with many miracles. Following his death at San Chian in China,
the saint was brought here, and was laid to rest at an open grave (now
covered by iron grills) from the 22nd of March 1553, to the 11th of December
of the same year, before being delivered to
Goa, India.
St. Francis Xavier is still on display at the Basilica of
Bom Jesus in Goa, India, that is open to the public once every 10 years. The
body is said to be preserved in fairly good condition, even though it has
been rested for nearly 500 years. Today, the bare tomb in this roofless
church of St. Paul’s Church, is a silent reminder of a great saint. Each
year, on the Sunday nearest to 3rd December, thousands of pilgrims and
devotees From all over the region throng the ruins of St. Paul’s Church in
Melaka to celebrate the Feast of St. Francis Xavier.
