Church of St Catherine, Żejtun

Church of St Catherine
The Parish church of St Catherine of Alexandria
Knisja Arċipretali ta' Santa Katerina
Church of St Catherine
35°51′18.7″N 14°32′01.1″E / 35.855194°N 14.533639°E / 35.855194; 14.533639
Location Żejtun
Country Malta
Denomination Roman Catholic
Website www.zejtunparish.com
History
Founded 1692
Dedication St Catherine of Alexandria
Consecrated 11 May 1742
Architecture
Years built 1692-1778
Completed 1778
Administration
Archdiocese Malta
Clergy
Archbishop Charles Scicluna
Archpriest Nicholas Pace

The Church of St Catherine is a Roman Catholic Parish church located in the village of Żejtun, Malta.

History

The church was built to replace the old parish church of St Catherine, more commonly known as St Gregory's, which is located in the vicinity of the present parish church. The church was built as a result of Żejtun's increasing population. The villagers had preferred to build their new church to the west of St Gregory’s, rather than the east, because this area was far too exposed to attacks from the enemy. A central location was chosen for the new parish church, which thus found itself in the focal point of the developing community. Today the church is located in the heart of the village. In 1692 Girgor Bonici, a former mayor of Mdina, bought a large plot of land right in the centre of Żejtun to build the new church. He not only bought the land but also contributed substantially throughout t the next 30 years to finance the construction of the church. The residents of Żejtun contributed by offering to work in the construction for free on holidays and in the evenings. The architect was the famous Lorenzo Gafà.[1][2]

The foundation stone was laid by Bishop Davide Cocco Palmieri on November 25, 1692, with Ugolino Bonnici as archpriest. The church was consecrated on May 11, 1742. Artists such as Enrico Regnaud, Gio Nicola Buhagiar and Francesco Żahra all contributed towards magnifying the interior beauty of this church. The latter was the most talented artist of this period, whose presence in Żejtun was secured at an early age because his father, Pietro Paolo, was working on the stone carvings within the same church. The two side naves were finished in 1778.[3]

The church is listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.[4]

References

  1. "Zejtun ... of olives and olive-presses", Żejtun Parish, Malta. Retrieved on 12 August 2015.
  2. "Zejtun", Malta Culture Guide. Retrieved on 12 August 2015.
  3. "Parish Church of St. Catherine", Żejtun Local Council, Malta. Retrieved on 12 August 2015.
  4. "Parish Church of St. Catherine" (PDF). National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. 27 December 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/13/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.