Conventual Church of St Francis of Assisi | |
---|---|
Knisja ta' San Franġisk | |
36°02′32.5″N14°14′28.0″E / 36.042361°N 14.241111°E | |
Location | Victoria, Gozo |
Country | Malta |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
History | |
Status | Conventual Church |
Founded | 1492 |
Founder(s) | Jacob de Leo Provincial |
Dedication | St Francis of Assisi |
Consecrated | 1906 |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Active |
Architectural type | Church |
Style | Baroque |
Completed | 1663 |
Specifications | |
Number of domes | 1 |
Number of spires | 1 |
Bells | 4 (1956) |
Administration | |
Province | Malta |
Diocese | Gozo |
Parish | St George's Parish Victoria |
Clergy | |
Bishop(s) | Mario Grech |
Rector | Joseph Xerri |
The Church of St Francis is a Roman Catholic church building in Victoria, Gozo, Malta, situated in St Francis Square. Adjacent to the church is the convent of the Conventual Franciscans. [1]
The original convent and church of St Francis date back to 1492. The original church was dedicated to St Mark. The name was changed in 1535 to that of St Francis. The present church and convent were mostly built in the 17th century. The church was completed in 1663. Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena visited the convent and church in 1742. He stayed there from 5 to 9 June to take possession of the island. This event was commemorated by an inscription on the wall of the rooms he occupied during this five-day visit. [2]
In December 1890 the church was closed to the public by the order of the government as it was deemed to be unsafe for use. The ceiling of the church was in a very dangerous state. The ceiling and façade were rebuilt and the church reopened on 16 April 1893. The church was consecrated by Giovanni Maria Camilleri, bishop of Gozo, in 1906.[ citation needed ]
The church building is listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. [3]
The titular painting of the church depicts St Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata. It was painted by Jean-Baptiste van Loo. The church also has a statue of St Isidore the Laborer which dates back to 1680. Originally this statue was gilded in gold but then it was painted over so as not to attract the attention of the French invaders. [4]
A feast for the Immaculate Conception of Mary is celebrated every year on 8 December. The feat dates back to 1663 when a Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception was founded in the church to help in the organization of the mentioned feast. In 1698 a wooden statue of Our Lady representing the Immaculate Conception was used in a procession.[ citation needed ]
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The Parish Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven is a Roman Catholic parish church in Żebbuġ, Gozo, Malta, dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. The present building was built between 1690 and 1726 on the site of an earlier church, and it was enlarged between 1938 and 1942. The church's interior was extensively decorated using locally-sourced travertine from cave deposits in the late 20th century.
The Church of Our Lady of Sorrows is a Roman Catholic church in Pietà, Malta. It was established in the late 16th or early 17th century near a cemetery in which victims of the 1592–1593 Malta plague epidemic were buried. It was originally dedicated to Saint Roch, but after a convent was built next to it in the early 17th century it was rededicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. The church later gave its name to the town of Pietà which developed nearby, and the present building dates back to the mid-18th century when it was reconstructed. Both the church and the convent are currently in the hands of a Catholic youth ministry.