St Paul's Church

Looking up on the hill, we realized we were in for quite a climb, not on these stairs but the ones in my previous post,  but it was well worth the effort.  Originally built as the Lady of the Hill Chapel, St Paul's Church is a testament to the Catholicism in East Asia.  It offers a view of Malaca proper below, sitting on the hill of Bukit St Paul.

Arriving at the church, we had no idea what to expect.  Walking up to the church, the feeling of history was deep within us.  Just as we had seen below in the Porta de Santiago, the age was etched deep into the building. 

Walking inside took my breath away.  I didn't expect the rustic church to have such character.  Quietly walking around, we saw its beauty with few people around.  We had arrived very early in the morning before the crowds, so I was able to browse around and take pictures at will.  The peacefulness surrounding it was relaxing and the antique beauty was amazing:

St Paul's Church is a wonderful, breezy sanctuary - literally.  Though the walls are still standing, they are about the only thing left of the building.

These are intricately engraved tombstones of the Dutch nobility that are buried here (around the hill) leaning against the walls:

Walking around and looking at them I was taken back by the dates inscribed in the stone... 1660, 1696, 1620, 1655... And for some reason, I feel the need to read them all - as if I am giving their death meaning... trying to get to know each one a bit by reading their 'dash'.  Of course, some were young children even... so much hardship...

Browsing deeper into the church, we found the empty tomb of St Francis Xavier.  The saint's body was interred here for 9 months before being moved to Goa, where his body remains today. 

Outside the church stands a statue of St Francis Xavier with a hand missing:

 

In 1952, a statue of St Francis Xavier was built to commemorate the passing of the saint.  Originally, the statue was constructed with the right arm in place, however, the morning after the consecration ceremony, a tree limb fell on it knocking it off - resulting in the statue still not having its arm even today.

Looking through the openings where the windows once were, with Steve browsing in the distance,  I saw the perfect picture:

 

And since I didn't have my tripod for us both to take a picture, I did the unimaginable - I showed him right where to stand and I asked him to take my picture... maybe the only one taken while we visited Malacca  :-)   Hey, at least I remembered to document my visit!  Ok, ok, so HE took the picture, not me as my watermark says - but he used *my* camera and *my* settings!  lol...

And at the foot of the hill, tomorrow's post will begin, near the tombstones at at t he foothill of the church:

Keep on checking back - it was a great trip!