St. Paul's College was a Jesuit school, and later college, founded circa 1542 by saint Francis Xavier, at Old Goa. It was once the main Jesuit institution in the whole of Asia. It housed the first printing press in India, having published the first books in 1556.[1] The original building, however, was abandoned progressively after the outbreak of plague in 1578, and went into disuse as the college moved to new building known as the New College of Saint Paul.[2] It is an ASI protected Monument of National Importance in Goa.
The ruins were demolished in 1832. The only vestige of the original college and of the collegiate church consecrated on 25 January 1543 is the Gate of the College of St. Paul, that can be seen south of St. Cajetan's church. The arch with a niche at the top and a cross crowning it, is built of laterite and flanked by basalt columns. The legacy of St. Paul's College endures until today in the Rachol Seminary.[3]
- ^ p.115, O'Malley, J W 1993, 'The First Jesuits', Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- ^ José Nicolau da Fonseca, An historical and archaeological sketch of the city of Goa: preceded by a short statistical account of the territory of Goa
- ^ Cosme Jose Costa sfx (2006). "St Paul's College & Rachol Seminary". Archdiocese of Goa and Daman. Archived from the original on September 15, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2010.