Ghajnsielem

Our Lady of Loreto New Parish Church

This is the second parish church of Ghajnsielem. With the pressure of increase in the population of Ghajnsielem, the Pastor Frangisk Mizzi and a committee decided to build a bigger church. The first stone of this new church was laid on 23rd October 1923 a few hundred yards away from the old one. Work on the building was stopped several times including at the onset of WWII and because of two accidents. Four architects were in turn replaced as years went by, but at last the building was finally completed with the blessing of the bell tower in June 1979. The church itself had been blessed a year earlier, on 29th August 1978.

Our Lady of Loreto Old parish Church

The Old Parish Church of Ghajnsielem is situated in Independence Square, right in the centre of the old part of the town. The first stone was laid in 1810 by the Archpriest of Nadur and the building was completed by 1820. As the population of Ghajnsielem grew the church had to be extended and works to enlarge it started in 1867. The church was completely finished in 1877. This building boasts a titular painting of our Lady of Loreto by the artist Michele Busuttil and no less than four masterpieces by Guiseppe Cali.

Chapel


Belonging to the Augustinian nuns in their convent.

Our Lady of Lourdes

Situated on a promontory overlooking Mgarr Harbour it has a spectacular view up to the Island of Malta. A statue of Our Lady of Lourdes sculpted by Antonio Busuttil was placed in a natural cavity beneath the promontory on the 25th March 1879. The statue was blessed by Bishop Pietro Pace on the 3rd June 1888. On that occasion the Bishop urged devotees to help him raise funds for a chapel. The foundation stone was laid on the 10th June 1888 and the church was opened and blessed on the  27th August 1893. It was consecrated on 17th February 1949. Inside, the chapel has a ribbed, Gothic, vaulted roof and is dominated by a statue of the Virgin Mary of Lourdes sculpted by Carlo Darmanin and given to the church by Karolina Mamo-Bruno on 17th September 1893. The feast is celebrated on the 11th February, the date of Our Lady's first apparition at Lourdes.

Our Lady of Lourdes

Chapel of the Dominican nuns.

St.Anthony of Padova Ta Giezu

In 1901 a plot of land was donated to the Franciscan Friars Minor to build their own convent and erect a church. The plans for the convent were drawn by Fr.Joseph Diacono. The work commenced immediately and the first part of the convent was completed in 1902. Bishop Mons Giovanni M.Camilleri blessed a temporary chapel. All the construction of the church was paid for by Joseph Sultana a businessman from Nadur. In charge of the building was Mr Wigi Vella who was also prepared the design. On completion, Bishop Camilleri blessed the church on the 28th of October 1906. Lately the tabernacle was built anew from what used to be the marble and decorations of the old main altar in pre-Vatican II days. In this church there are paintings by Lazzaro Pisani.

St.Cecilia (Ta Santa Cilja) 

A Siculo-Norman chapel  at the end of the village of Ghajnsielem is the oldest chapel in Gozo. It is very similar in structure to the one at Rabat Malta described above. This one lacks the buttresses on the sides and which would have been added at a later date to the one in Malta. Sadly, out of neglect, two of its walls collapsed a few years ago, but thankfully it was lately restored with as much of the original stone as possible being used.

St Joseph

In a building that used to be retirement Home of the same name run by Augustinian nuns was also a chapel. After a while it was changed into a youth hostel and now is in the process of being turned again into an old age home.

St. Martin 

A chapel used to exist in a tower built in 1605 by Grandmaster Martin Garzes. A document recording the pastoral visit of Don Pietro Francesco Pontemoli of 1621 refers to four soldiers who resided there on regular guard duty and for whose spiritual needs a small chapel was built inside, dedicated to St.Catherine of Siena. The original chapel would have been rededicated to St.Martin after the tower underwent repairs in 1617. In 1848 the tower was sadly demolished and its material used for building a road from Mgarr to Nadur.

Watercolour by Ducros of the 1605 Torre Garza overlooking Mġarr, demolished in the 19th century

Our Lady of Grace 

Between 1800 and 1928 a catholic chapel of this dedication was situated close to the Notre Dame della Qala Bastion on the West side near the entrance inside Fort Chambray, next to the barracks. It had a single altar and a bell on the roof. When members of the Society of Jesus came to Gozo to run the Seminary (1866-1909), it was usually an English Jesuit who officiated in this chapel.

Anglican chapel - St Paul

Also between 1800 and 1928, close to St Anthony Bastion overlooking the North of ix-Xatt l-Ahmar next to the cemetery, the British built an Anglican chapel. It later served as a Catholic chapel for the patients of the Chambray hospital when the fort was handed over to the civil authorities.

KEMMUNA

Assumption

The island of Kemmuna is recorded having a chapel even as early as the 13th century. The chapel was rebuilt in 1667, and again in 1716 on a plan by Vittorio Cassar. It was dedicated to the Return of the Blessed Virgin Mary from Egypt for some time as the titular shows. It has uninterruptedly served the spiritual needs of the guardsmen at the tower and of the small farming community that still lives on the island.

St.Joseph in St.Mary’s Tower

In 1618, the Order of Saint John financed the construction of St.Mary’s Tower to defend the Gozo channel and deter enemy shipping from finding shelter in the caves of Comino. In it there is a chapel dedicated to St.Joseph. It is interesting to note that the altarpiece of the chapel of Saint Joseph within the tower represented Our Lady and Saint Joseph fleeing with Baby Jesus to Egypt. Yet it was Saint Joseph who was especially venerated inside this chapel.