Jen Lewis posted on the VascokarsUnited mailing list some details of Saligaokar Fr Nascimento J Mascarenhas' book that's just out:

*Mormugao’s Rich Heritage* is Rev Fr Nascimento J Mascarenhas’ latest offering. His earlier books, *Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom – From Goa to Lisboa* and *A Paean to an Ophthalmologist: Prof. Dr Gama Pinto*, were biographical.

The latest book is aptly dedicated to the people of Mormugao, since the author keeps them in mind throughout. His painstaking research into primary and secondary sources of history makes it a valuable read for scholars but does not form a barrier between the author and the general reader.

The oldest extant building in the area is Saint Andrew’s Church, where Fr Mascarenhas is currently posted. His book focuses on this church and its parish, without distancing them either from the people of other faiths or from the notable events of Mormugao’s secular history.

As he says in the introduction to the slim volume, “I attempt to narrate, in short, the story of the city church and its affiliated chapels, in the context of the whole peninsula of Mormugao.”

Every corner of the peninsula has its story to tell, but the Palace Hotel, for instance, has several stories. Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas recounts tale upon tale as he walks through the parish wards.

"Around 1907, the British managers of the Madras Southern Maratha Railway began running the Old Palace Hotel there, with Spencers’ for caterers. In February 1918 the name was officially changed to Hotel Antigo Palácio, at the insistence of the Portuguese government. In September 1952 it became Hotel Palácio. The building was once the residential palace of the Viceroy Melo e Castro, who intended making Mormugao the capital of Portuguese India, a project which was later abandoned. British troops may have lodged there during their occupation of Goa from 1799 to 1813. In 1942, during World War II, British secret agents stayed at this hotel before they went out to destroy the three German ships anchored at Mormugao Harbour. In 1943, Japanese and Allied prisoners-of-war were exchanged at Hotel Antigo Palácio, Portuguese territory being considered neutral."

The book is in three parts. The first sketches Mormugao from the sixteenth century to the present. The second is a record of untiring walks all over the area which till 1970 fell within St. Andrew’s parish.

Subsequently the chapels at Mormugao Harbour, Baina and Destero became churches, and it is only a matter of time before other chapels follow suit.

The third part of the book describes the four churches, the chapels and many of the smaller shrines in Mormugao. The author also describes his visits to several places of worship of other faiths.

The foreword is by historian Rev Fr Cosme Jose da Costa, sfx. Mormugao’s Rich Heritage has an exhaustive bliography, several maps, and appendices listing the majority of priests
who have served as vicars of St Andrew's, as well as those
born in Mormugao or whose families are or were from the area.

The copious photographs, mostly clicked by the author’s friends, are highly informative.

"The ancient history of Mormugao may elude us, but within the last five centuries it has seen events unique in the life of Goa. With Goa's primary port, first railway and airport, Mormugao continues to be unlike the rest of the state." *(From the introduction)*.