Kerchem

Our Lady of Perpetual Help / St.Gregory the Great 

The parish church of Kerchem was built around 1581. The site gained historical importance due to the annual traditional St.Gregory procession from the Matrix church in Rabat to a medieval chapel of this dedication on the 12th March. The chapel was however replaced by the present parish church in 1851, which was enlarged later on to its present state between 1906 and 1910. On the 10th March 1885 Bishop Pietru Pace made Kerchem a parish. It is the only church on this island with two dedications. It was traditionally dedicated to St.Gregory the Great, but since 17th August 1885, the church was additionally dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The village celebrates the two feasts without distinction. The titular picture by S.Busuttil shows the two dedications in a background of the 1813-14 plague. There is also a perpetual adoration chapel in this village.

Assumption ta' Korvel

This old chapel at tal-Madliena, erected by Andreotta Theobalda was deconsecrated in 1575 by Mons.Dusina but was eventually restored. It probably collapsed during the first decade of the seventeenth century. 

Chapel 

During the restoration process of the Xlendi Tower, frescoes were discovered that were completely covered with paint. These frescoes included depictions of a crucifix, a church and candlesticks among others. These indicate the presence of a chapel in the tower. The Local Council engaged professional restorers to ensure the preservation of these frescoes during this recent restoration by the Munxar Local Council co-financed by European Funds.

Immaculate Conception tal-Warda

Due to increasing devotion to the Immaculate Conception, another chapel was raised in her honour at tal-Qabbieza on the ruins of a former chapel known as tal-Warda. It was paid for by the cleric Simon Apap and it began functioning by September 1634. The chapel flourished until 1654. Nowadays there is a crumbling farmer's room built right over the place where the old chapel stood. This chapel might have also been partly troglodytic.

Our Lady of Carmel - Xlendi

This church's front section dates back from 1868. In 1969 the church was enlarged by being elongated at the back and then blessed in 1974. Now it is four times as large as it used to be.

Our Lady of Perpetual help

The Carmelite Nuns have a chapel of this dedication attached to their convent. 

St.Catherine of Siena

A church, nowadays lost, which was built on top of a probably troglodytic church, which was kept as a crypt. The whereabouts of this chapel are called Ta Santa Katerini - in the plural - indicating the previous existence of another church dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria in the area. The photo shows the entrance to the underground space.

St.George

In the area still called St George, which lies, between the church of St Lucy of Kerchem and Rabat, used to exist an old church dedicated to St George. About 1657, the Bishop closed and deconsecrated a number of chapels and transferred their benefices to the Cathedral. This was one of those chapels. At the time it was already deteriorated and nowadays there is no trace of it except a well standing in the general area and called the well of St George. 

St.Lucy

Deconsecrated in 1544, in 1575 and again in 1657; totally rebuilt in the 1790's; from 1848 to 1851 it served as a vice-parish church. After being enlarged in 1950, on the 9th Nov 1952 it was consecrated again by Bishop Pace. It has paintings of the martyrdom of St.Lucy, work by G.Briffa. An interesting note is that not one but two main feasts are celebrated here: the feast of St Lucy and the feast of Our Lady of Snows both shown on the titular picture.