Monte Guirim

Called in Konkani, Monte Guirim, and in Portuguese, Monte de Guirim, this is a site that has been occupied by Church run institutions for the last five centuries. After the anti-Christian Sebastião José de Carvalho e Mello, Marquis de Pombal became Prime Minister of Portugal under King Joseph, he expelled first the Jesuits from Portugal and then all other religious orders. With that, Monte Guirim was abandoned and became desolate, a ruin. In the late nineteenth century, a Fr. Luna took over the place and began to teach the children of the surrounding villages. This became the renewed Monte Guirim. Today, the most important institution is the St. Anthony of Padua High School.