The Chapel of the Annunciation or the Lunzjata Chapel is a small

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church built into a cave located in the valley known as the Lunzjata Valley in

Victoria, Gozo Victoria ( mt, Il-Belt Victoria, meaning "the city Victoria"), also known among the native Maltese as Rabat (which is the name of the old town centre) or by its title Città Victoria, is an administrative unit of Malta, the largest and most pr ...

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 ...

History

The original chapel of the Annunciation goes back to at least 1347. Documents from the 14th century reveal that the church was a

Jus patronatus The right of patronage (in Latin ''jus patronatus'' or ''ius patronatus'') in Roman Catholic canon law is a set of rights and obligations of someone, known as the patron in connection with a gift of land (benefice). It is a grant made by the chu ...

founded by Dona Sibila of Aragon. When she died the

passed to the kings of Sicily, who at that time ruled Malta. On November 12, 1372 the chapel was handed over to a Maltese priest Don Bartolommeo Asciach who was probably its second rector. Up until the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

arrived in

in 1530 the chapel was mostly administered by the nobility of Aragon and Sicily. When the knights came they took over and appointed Don Pietro Burlo as its rector. The chapel was rebuilt in 1629 by its rector Don Paolo Tabone. After WWII the chapel was restored extensively and was finally consecrated by the Bishop of Gozo

Giuseppe Pace Giuseppe Pace (translated in English into Joseph Pace) was the 7th Bishop of Gozo after Mikiel Gonzi. He remained in office till his death in 1972. History Joseph Pace was born in Victoria, Malta on May 30, 1890, son of Giovanni Battista Pace a ...

on October 18, 1959.

Interior

The chapel has one altar and one titular painting depicting the Annunciation of Jesus, the work of Luca Garnier. The painting was commissioned by rector Nicola Mangion in 1644.Busuttil, Roderick.
"l-knisja tal-Lunzjata ~ Kerċem/Victoria, Għawdex ~"
''Kappelli Maltin'', Malta. Retrieved on 03 February 2017.

References

{{Subject bar , portal1= Catholicism , portal2= Malta 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta Roman Catholic chapels in Malta Victoria, Gozo National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Medieval Maltese architecture

History

Interior

See also

References