The first priest who must have acted as a Vicar (rather than appointed) must have been Frei. Francisco da Rocha, a franciscan who was the chaplain of D. Afonso de Albuquerque. We know from history that immediately after the conquest, a small chapel was raised in honor of St. Catherine (which stands still today). This chaplain must have assisted in all these spiritual activities in the city of Goa.

   He seems to have been followed by an unnamed Dominican as an acting Vicar of the city. Yet, he was dismissed by Albuquerque on charges of corruption and was sent away. Note must be made here that two Dominicans associated with Albuquerque were present during the early days of the City of Goa – Fr. Rodrigo and Fr. Joao.

   The first time we hear of a “Vigario da Fortaleza de Goa (Vicar of the Fort of Goa)” was Fr. Fernao Nunes in October, 1512. Note must be made here that Old Goa was a fortified city during the time of Muslims itself and the Portuguese had strengthened and remodified it to suit their purposes. A vicar for the fort of Goa shows that people have already started settling inside the fortress and thanks to the policy of Albuquerque encouraging marriage between the Portuguese and the natives, the need of the priests must have crucial.

   The first priest named exclusively as “Vigario de Cidade de Goa (Vicar of the City of Goa)” from the historical documents available so far was Fr. Pedro/Pero de Aguiar in the year 1513.

   In 1514, the Diocese of Funchal was created and it had jurisdiction over the entire area occupied by the Portuguese in the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Goa must have been made as a Commissary Apostolic immediately. Somewhere around 1514 or 1516 the first Commissary Apostolic came to administer Goa. The first one is named as D. Fr. Gaspar Nunes- titular bishop of Laodicea. We don’t know if he directly administered the City of Goa (Old Goa) or appointed Vicars to do the same. There seems to be some evidence that Vicars were appointed. For example, another Fr. Afonso Velho was mentioned as the Vicar of the city of Goa in January 1519.

   In 1520, this bishop D. Gaspar Nunes was succeeded by D. Fr. Diogo, bishop of Dume and he was succeeded in 1523 by D. Fr. Martinho, D. Fr. Ambrosio in 1529. Historical documents testify a Vicar or parish priest of Old Goa namely Fr. Diogo de Morias around 1526. We don’t know how many years he acted as the parish priest.

   In 1531, D. Fernando Vaqueiro, a Franciscan was appointed as a bishop and sent to Goa. On 31st January 1533, Goa was seperated from the Archdiocese of Funchal and made into a Bishopric. Although D. Fr. Francisco de Mello was appointed as the first bishop he died before coming to the diocese and therefore bishop D. Fernando Vaqueiro administered the diocese as its first governor. He died in the year 1535 in Ormuz in todays Iran and was considered a saint for his virtues. It is clear that there must have been other Vicars specifically appointed to take care of the affairs of the city of Goa, yet the author couldn’t come across their names in the historical sources.

   In 1538, a Franciscan namely D. Joao de Albuquerque appointed as the bishop of Goa came to India and he became the first resident bishop of Goa. A pious and strict man, during his time a trail against Fr. Diogo de Morias, who was the parish priest around 1526 was conducted. It seems during his time that the Cathedral chapter was established and thereafter the Curate of the See took charge of the spiritual affairs of the city of Goa thereafter. Here below is a list of the Curates if the See of Goa produced by Peter from Margao based on the baptismal records and edited by myself. This list is almost complete with few interruptions here and there.

   Fr Damiao Penalvo - From: 01-01-1539 Till: 01-01-1562

   Fr Vasco Esteves- From: 01-06-1562 Till: 01-08-1605

   Fr Lancarote Vas- From: 01-06-1605 Till: 01-06-1620

   Fr Luis da Fonseca- From: 01-07-1635 Till: 01-08-1643

   Fr João Coutinho- From: 01-06-1714 Till: 01-06-1750

   Fr João Pereira- From: 23-10-1750 Till: 01-08-1766

   Fr Matias Rangel- From: 01-01-1766 Till: 31-12-1774

   Fr Silvestre Lobo- From: 05-05-1775 Till: 06-08-1781

   Fr Manuel de Expectacao- From: 12-07-1781 Till: 11-02-1782

   Fr Inocencio Monteiro- From: 02-06-1782 Till: 01-10-1782

   Fr Tome Francisco Gonsalves- From: 12-10-1782 Till: 04-08-1783

   Fr Francisco Caetano de Melo- From: 1783 Till: 15-12-1800

   Fr Lourenço Fernandes- From: 15-12-1800 Till: 02-10-1804

   Fr Domingos Lourenço Rodrigues- From: 02-10-1804 Till: 02-07-1813

   Fr Eusebio Francisco Baracho- From: 02-07-1813 Till: 30-03-1829

   Fr Jose Simao de Anunciasao Pereira- From: 01-06-1829 Till: 03-08-1840

   Fr Diogo Boaventura- From: 04-08-1845 Till: 05-12-1845

   Fr Salvador Lobo- From: 05-12-1845 Till: 12-05-1853

   Fr Matias Manuel da Silveira- From: 14-03-1854 Till: 02-01-1868

   Fr Joaquim Anselmo Caraciolo Viegas- From: 17-06-1868 Till: 16-07-1878

   Fr Camilo do Rosario Pereira- From: 16-07-1878 Till: 10-10-1908

   Fr Antonio João Dias- From: 10-10-1908 Till: 11-06-1931

   Fr Pedro Caetano Consolasao de Sousa- From: 11-06-1931 Till: 17-10-1934

   Fr Leao Manuel da Piedade Rebelo- From: 26-11-1934 Till: 01-02-1936

   Fr Francisco Xavier Henrique Octaviano Fernandes- From: 01-02-1936 Till: 03-10-1946

   Fr Antonio Xavier Ludovico Camilo de Braganza- From: 21-02-1946 Till: 28-09-1946

   Fr João Xavier de Almeida- From: 28-09-1946 Till: 03-01-1978

   Fr Antonio Rosa do Viterbo Siqueira- From: 21-09-1978 Till: 31-05-1998

   Fr Adolfo Joviano Castro Viegas- From: 01-06-1998 Till: 31-05-2006

   Fr Leonardo Antonio Pantaleao Correia- From: 01-06-2006 Till: 29-05-2013

   Fr Alfredo Judas Vas- From-30-05-2013 Till: 29-06-2021

   Rev. Canon Rosario Oliveira- 30-06-2021