Goan Catholics

The Goan Catholics (Konkani: Goenche Katholik) are an ethno-religious community of Roman Catholics and their descendants from the state of Goa, located on the west coast of India. They are Konkani people and speak the Konkani language. Portuguese seafarers arrived in Goa in 1510, and Catholic missionary activities soon followed, as Pope Nicholas V had enacted the Papal bull Romanus Pontifex in 1455, which granted the patronage of the propagation of the Christian faith in Asia.

The Edict of the Goa Inquisition and the Portuguese–Maratha wars are notable events in their history which led to the migration of many Goan Catholics to neighbouring regions. After the Goans converted to Christianity, their new religion came to be superimposed on their ancestral Hindu customs, beliefs, and caste system. Their Feni, a native liquor, and various contributions to music and literature are well-known.

The culture of the Goan Catholics is a blend of Indo-Hindu and Luso-Christian cultures. The notion of Goan identity—initially closely linked with Portuguese culture—was forged after the integration of Goa into the Indian Union in 1961. Contemporary Goan Catholic culture can be best described as an increasingly Anglicised Indo-Latin culture. The Goan Catholic diaspora is concentrated in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, the Lusosphere, and English-speaking countries such as Great Britain and Canada. Many Goan Catholics speak English as their first language, in common with Catholics who live in Mumbai.