Church of St Catherine, Żejtun
| Church of St Catherine | |
|---|---|
| The Parish church of St Catherine of Alexandria | |
Knisja Arċipretali ta' Santa Katerina | |
Malta | |
| Clergy | |
| Archpriest | Nicholas Pace |
The Church of St Catherine (
Its dedication to Catherine of Alexandria dates back to an original church standing 500 metres (1,600 ft) from this site, extant from at least the fifteenth century, and was one of the eight mother churches on Malta.[3] The church, dating from the late 17th century, was designed in the Maltese baroque style by Lorenzo Gafà. Its construction was part of an urbanisation programme in Żejtun spearheaded by Gregorio Bonici. The church is one of the most famous and most recognisable sights of Żejtun. Its dome, framed by the spires of its clock towers, have dominated the town's skyline for 300 years.[citation needed]
Colloquially known as the Cathedral of the East (
St Catherine's is a working church with prayer and daily mass services.[4]
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 land on which the church is built was donated by Girgor Bonici and Tumas Abela.[5]
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 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.[6][7]
The foundation stone was laid by Bishop Davide Cocco Palmieri on 25 November 1692, with Ugolino Bonnici as archpriest. The church was consecrated on 11 May 1742. Artists such as Enrico Regnaud, Gio Nicola Buhagiar and Francesco Zahra 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.[8]
The church is listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.[9]
References
- ^ Development Planning Act as per Government Notice GN198/96 Archived 13 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine dated 26 March 1996
- ^ Il-Gwiedi is the Maltese plural of Gudja, which means a hill.
- ^ Ferris, Achille (1866). Descrizione storica delle chiese di Malta e Gozo. Malta. p. 367.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Santa Katarina ta' Lixandra". Quddies.
- ^ "The Parish Church | Zejtun Religious Heritage Trail".
- ^ "Zejtun ... of olives and olive-presses" Archived 27 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Żejtun Parish, Malta. Retrieved on 12 August 2015.
- ^ "Zejtun", Malta Culture Guide. Retrieved on 12 August 2015.
- ^ "Parish Church of St. Catherine", Żejtun Local Council, Malta. Retrieved on 12 August 2015.
- ^ "Parish Church of St. Catherine" (PDF). National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. 27 December 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
