A church in the shape of a cross

By 1752 the church stood finished, raised in the form of a cross with its altar facing east toward the rising sun. Like de Britto's chapel before it, it was “dedicated to the Holy Family”. Its great feast was St Francis Xavier's, kept every December with a solemn novena. The parish fixes the year by two inscriptions once set inside the church's walls.

DocumentedThis moment rests on 4 sources.

Besse (Moumas tr.)

Just like the first, it was dedicated to the Holy Family.

What this source establishes

Besse (Moumas typescript, pp.843–844), from the mission’s records, says the 1752 church was dedicated to the Holy Family, “just like the first” — de Britto’s chapel — so the Holy Family title runs continuous, not new in 1872. At its building, then, this was a Holy Family church. In copyright: quoted, not reproduced.

This is as much of the book as this site prints. It is named in full in the bibliography below.