Church of St. Cajetan

The Church of St. Cajetan, also called the Church of Divine Providence, stands in Old Goa and is part of the Churches and Convents of Goa World Heritage Site. Italian Theatine priests who arrived in 1639 were at first expelled by the Portuguese viceroy, but their leader, Pedro Avitabili, persuaded King John IV of Portugal to let them stay, and the church was finished in 1661, its building overseen by Carlo Ferrarini and Francesco Maria Milazzo of Italy. It is said to be modelled on St Peter's Basilica, and early travellers likened it to Sant'Andrea della Valle, seat of the Theatine order.

The church is laid out as a Greek cross under a large dome whose inner surface bears Latin verses from the Gospel of Matthew. Granite statues of Saints Peter, Paul, John and Matthew stand on the Corinthian façade. Of its seven altars, the main one, to Our Lady of Providence, was commissioned in 1713 with support from the Tuscan ruler Cosimo III.