Żurrieq ( mt, Iż-Żurrieq ) is a town in the Southern Region of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. It is one of the oldest towns in the country, and it has a population of 11,823 inhabitants as of March 2014. The first documentation about it being a parish dates back to 1436 dedicated to St.

Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria (also spelled Katherine); grc-gre, ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς ; ar, سانت كاترين; la, Catharina Alexandrina). is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, wh ...

. The island of

Filfla Filfla is a small, mostly barren, uninhabited islet south of Malta, and is the most southerly point of the Maltese Archipelago. ''filflu'' (or ''filfluu''), a small rocky islet some southwest of Filfla,

is administratively a part of the town. The town stretches from in Nigret to Ħal Far respectively in old times the town was a border with Żejtun. There are a number of villages forming part of Żurrieq. Żurrieq is part of the Fifth political District and votes for the local council every five years. The council is made up of nine members, one of them is the Mayor of the town. The present Mayor of Żurrieq is Rita Grima. The parish Arch-priest being Rev. Karm Mercieca, helped by Rev. Raymond Cassar, Rev. David Torpiano and Rev. Karm Camilleri.

Churches and chapels

Parish Church dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria

Bubaqra Chapel dedicated to the Assumption of Mary

Nigret Chapel dedicated to the Immaculate conception of Mary

Chapel of the Annunciation, Ħal-Millieri

Chapel of Saint John the Evangelist in Ħal-Millieri

Chapel of St Leo, Żurrieq

The chapel serves as the official cemetery chapel of Żurrieq. It is the only such chapel dedicated to Pope St Leo I in Malta. This chapel was closed in 1658 and reopened twenty years later, after the necessary restoration had been carried out. In this chapel one could also find an old painting on wood that from 1343 to 1575 was in the chapel on Filfla. Today this painting is found in the parish church of Zurrieq.

Chapel of St Agatha

The original church which stood on the site of the present church was built sometime in the 16th century. However it was deconsecrated by the Bishop of Malta, Balaguer on 24 November 1658. The present church was built by Cikku Grixti as a fulfillment of a vow made by a woman. It was blessed by the vicar general Philip Amato on 27 February 1859. The church served as a spiritual base for British soldiers during World War II. In 1952 the church was enlarged and decorated with necessarily items such as the Via Crucis and new vestments. The painting depicting St Agatha was restored by R. Bonnici Cali.

Chapel of St James

Chapel of St Bartholomew

Chapel of St Andrew

St Andrew's was first mentioned in the reports recounting the visit of inquisitor

Pietro Dusina Pietro Dusina was an Italian Roman Catholic priest from Brescia who was the inquisitor and apostolic delegate to Malta between 1574 and 1575. Dusina was nominated inquisitor of Malta by Pope Gregory XIII on 3 July 1574, and he arrived on the island ...

in 1575. However, the chapel was rebuilt in 1634 as mentioned in other pastoral visits. The chapel was deconsecrated in 1658 by Bishop Balaguer. The church remained in disuse until 1690 when the chapel became the property of the parish church of St Catherine.

Chapel of St Luke

The origin of the chapel of St Luke dates back to the 15th century. It was donated by its benefactor Luqa Zammit in his will dated 1460 as revealed in the notary documents of Luqa Sillato. However, the present structure dates from 1814 when the church was rebuilt on the initiative of Reverend Gwann Zammit.

Laboratorju tal-Paċi

In 1971 Fr Dionysius Mintoff O.F.M. took over an Air Force Hangar to use as a centre of peace activities, dedicating it to Pope John XXIII. The area was later on developed as a Peace laboratory.

Feasts

*Saint Catherine of Alexandria *Our Lady of Mount Carmel *Our Lady of the Rosary *Our Lady of tal-Warda *Saint Joseph *Saint Rocco *Saint Stephen *Saint Andrew *Santa Clementina *Sacred Heart of Jesus, celebrated in the Parish Church and also in Nigret. * Corpus Christi *The Assumption of our Lady, Celebrated in Bubaqra

Bands and clubs

*Soċjeta Mużikali Santa Katarina V.M. *Għaqda Karmelitana Banda Queen Victoria, Żurrieq

Streets showing Roman Catholic Faith

*Misrah Santa Marija(Saint Mary Square) *Misraħ San Ġorg (Saint Georges Square) *Misraħ il-Karmelitani (Carmelites Square) *Triq Santa Katarina (St. Catherine's Street) *Triq il-Benedittini (Benedictines Street) *Triq il-Karmnu (Our Lady of Mount Carmel Street) *Triq il-Kunċizzjoni (Immaculate Conception Street) *Triq l-Isqof Alpheran (Bishop Alpheran Street) *Triq San Bartilmew (St. Bartholomew Street) *Triq Sant'Luqa ( St. Luke Street) *Triq San Bastjan (St. Sebastian Street) *Triq San Ċiru (St. Ciros Street) *Triq San David (St. David Street) *Triq San Ġorġ (St. George Street) *Triq San Ġwann (St. John Street) *Triq San Iljun (St. Lion Street) *Triq San Pawl (St. Paul Street) *Triq San Mark (St. Mark Street) *Triq San Lazzru (St. Lazrus) *Triq Sant'Antnin (St. Antony Street) *Triq San Nikola (St. Nicholas Street) *Triq San Pietru (St. Peter Street) *Triq San Gwann (St. John Street) *Triq San Mikiel (St. Michael Street) *Triq San Martin (St. Martin Street) *Triq Sant'Iljun (St. Lion Street) *Triq San Bastjan (St. Sebastian Street) *Triq Sant'Agata (St. Agatha Street) *Triq Sant'Porfirju *Triq Santa Fawstina *Triq Sant'Andrija (St. Andrew Street) *Triq Santa Katerina tal-Baqqari *Triq Monsinjur Pietru Pawl Saydon *Triq Monsinjur Pullicino *Triq il-Kanonku Balzan *Triq l-Immakulata ( Immaculate Conception Street) *Trejqa l-Iben il-Ħali ( Prodigal Son Street) *Sqaq il-Karmnu Nru.1 u Nru.2 (Our Lady of Mount Carmel Alley No.1 and No.2) *Sqaq il-Kunċizzjoni (Immaculate Conception Alley) *Sqaq San Anard (St. Leonard Alley) *Sqaq San Bartolimew (St. Bartholomew Alley) *Sqaq San Ċiru (St. Ciros Alley) *Sqaq San Edwardu (St. Edward Alley) *Sqaq San Ġakmu (St. James Alley) *Sqaq San Ġużepp (St. Joseph Alley) *Sqaq San Ġwann (St. John Alley) *Sqaq San Martin (St. Martin Alley) *Sqaq San Patrizju (St. Patrick's Alley) *Żona Tal-Bambina (The Nativity of Our Lady Area) *Triq Santa Katerina tal-Baqqari

Zones

Bubaqra Bubaqra is a hamlet with its own administrative division in Żurrieq, Malta. It is a small rural village between Nigret and Ħal Far. It has a population of 2,000 people. At the centre of the zone is St Mary's Chapel. Overview The area was men ...

*Nigret *Xarolla *Tal-Bebbux *Tal Gawhar *Ta' Xaqqa *Tal-Għerien *Taċ-Ċantar *Tax-Xewki *Tal-Ġibjun *Tal-Baqqari *Ta' Taħt iċ-Ċint *Ħal-Millieri *Ħal-Lew *Ħal-Far *Ħal-Manin *Wied Ganu *Wied Żurrieq *Wied Babu *Wied Ħallelin *Wied Basasa *Wied Żnuber *Wied Fulija *Għar Ħasan

Twin towns – sister cities

Żurrieq is twinned with: *

Angermünde Angermünde () is a town in the district of Uckermark in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It is about northeast of Berlin, the capital of Germany. The population is about 14,000, but has been declining since its traditional industrial base, ...

, Germany *

Borgo Maggiore Borgo Maggiore (; rgn, E Bórgh) is one of the 9 communes or ''castelli'' of San Marino. It lies at the foot of Monte Titano and has a population of 6,871 (May 2018), making it the second largest town of San Marino, after Dogana. Etymology From ...

, San Marino *

Morphou Morphou ( el, Μόρφου; tr, Omorfo or ) is a town in the northwestern part of Cyprus, under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. It is the administrative center of the Güzelyurt District of Northern Cyprus. Having been a predominantl ...

, Cyprus

References

External links

Żurrieq Local CouncilŻurrieq Parish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zurrieq Towns in Malta Local councils of Malta