With the rise of the Age of Exploration in the 1500s and the strong influence of the Catholic Church on European colonial ambitions, many ecclesiastical traditions found their way into newly colonized lands—including India. Papal decrees such as Romanus Pontifex (1455) by Pope Nicholas V and later the Padroado (Patronage Treaty) signed in 1514 with Portugal by Pope Leo X, formally gave Portugal the authority to spread Christianity across Asia. It is within this historical context that European religious customs were transplanted into Indian soil.
Many of these traditions—some still visible today in places like Bandra, Bombay and across Goa—were direct imports from Europe. These include the Good Friday burial-style procession of Jesus, the mourning black attire worn by Goan Catholic women at funerals (popularised in old Bollywood films), Portuguese-influenced music, and delicacies like Cabidela de Porco, often seen at Goan Catholic weddings.
Among the most significant customs carried over was the practice of burying the deceased inside Catholic churches. Early missionaries and colonists established burial plots within church interiors—many of which still exist today. In several places entire families, were interred in adjacent or shared tombs near the altar.
While there were no strict universal rules from the Church on such burials, the practice was rooted in the desire to "Rest in Peace"—a belief in remaining physically close to loved ones until the resurrection at the Second Coming of Christ. As such, family burial plots, either purchased or leased in perpetuity, became common. Space permitting, individuals were buried side-by-side or even stacked vertically within these tombs.
However, the practice of intra-church burials began to decline by the 18th century, primarily due to public health concerns. The smell of decaying bodies beneath the church floors, where congregants worshipped daily, was a reason for discontinuing the practice. These conditions were not just unsanitary but also affected how communities interacted and organized their urban spaces.
This shift in burial practices coincided with the Age of Enlightenment, a period that emphasized science, reason, and hygiene. During this time, foul odors were believed to be the carriers of disease—a theory known as miasma. As a result, towns began to phase out church burials in favor of more sanitary cemetery practices, located away from living and worship areas.
The Second Vatican Council, through documents like Sacrosanctum Concilium (Chapter III), later encouraged burial rites to reflect regional customs while still maintaining the spiritual essence of Christian death. While the theological understanding of death remained the same, the physical practices evolved to suit changing social and scientific awareness.
Today, remnants of these once-common traditions linger in parts of India, serving as a testament to a time when European religious customs reshaped local cultures—and when new understandings of health and humanity began to change them forever.
In the Catholic Church, it is customary to exhume graves, and in Goa, this typically takes place after a period of three years. This practice serves as a stark reminder that even in death, a person's resting place is not permanent and may eventually be used for someone else. Traditionally, some families had the privilege of owning family graves or mausoleums. In the case of family graves, multiple members of the same family would be buried in the same plot, with names simply added to the existing tombstone. Families with mausoleums would transfer the remains of their loved ones to these structures once the grave was exhumed. However, for those without such arrangements, the remains were usually discarded in a dry pit and later burnt. Today, the Church offers a more inclusive option by allowing any family, regardless of caste or social standing, to purchase a niche within the cemetery to store the remains of their deceased relatives.