Goan Catholics
Goan Catholics (Goan Konkani: Goenchem Katholik) are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians adhering to the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church from the Goa state, in the southern part of the Konkan region along the west coast of India. They are Konkani people and speak the Konkani language.
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| India (1954) | 1,000,000 |
| →Goa (2011) | 366,130 |
| →Greater Bombay (1960s) | ~100,000 |
| Portugal | 80,000~100,000 |
| →Nairobi (prior to the 1960s) | ~5000 |
| Uganda (1931) | ~1124 |
| →Kampala (1931) | ~500 |
| → Tanganyika (1931) | ~1,722 |
| →Dar es Salaam (1993) | 700 |
| Pakistan (1954) | ~30,000 |
| →Karachi (1954) | ~10,000 |
| Persian Gulf countries | ~20,000 |
| Canada (1999) | ~23,000 |
| →Ontario (1999) | ~16,000 |
| →London | ~6,000 |
| →Swindon (2018) | ~12,000 |
| Languages | |
| Goan Konkani, English, Portuguese | |
| Religion | |
| Catholicism (Latin Rite) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Konkani Catholics, Karwari Catholics, Mangalorean Catholics | |
Missionary activities followed soon after the Portuguese conquest of Goa as Pope Nicholas V had enacted the Papal bull of Romanus Pontifex in AD 1455, according to which the patronage for propagation of the Christian faith in the East Indies was granted to the Portuguese crown.
Their culture is an amalgam of Konkani and Portuguese cultures, with the latter having a more dominant role because Goa, Daman and Diu had been ruled by Portugal from AD 1510–1961. The notion of Goan identity as a distinct culture among other Luso-Asians or Luso-Indian cultures was forged into India after the annexation of Goa and Damaon in 1961.
The Goan Catholic diaspora is concentrated in the Persian Gulf countries; the Lusophone world, especially Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, and Zanzibar; the European Union countries; and the Anglophone world, especially the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.