St. Francis Xavier's Church, Giriz

St. Francis Xavier's Church serves Giriz, a village in Vasai, on the coast of Maharashtra, within the Diocese of Vasai. Until the early 20th century the Catholics here belonged to the large parishes of St. Thomas at Sandor and Our Lady of Mercy at Merces, and getting to services was hard, especially in the monsoon. The Archbishop of Damaun recognised this and a new church was commissioned.

The foundation was laid on 14 February 1917, and the villagers themselves finished the building a year later, without foreign aid. Fr Augusto D'Souza, who supervised the work, became the first parish priest. The Marshal Pereira Community Hall and a porch came with the Golden Jubilee of 1968, a large extension followed in 1977, and the two spires were replaced in May 1981. The feast of St. Francis Xavier is kept every 3 December.