The Parish Church of the Annunciation of Our Lord or simply Annunciation Church or in Maltese Il-Knisja tal-Lunzjata is a

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 ...

Parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

located in the village of

Tarxien Tarxien ( mt, Ħal Tarxien) is a town in the South Eastern Region of Malta. Its population stood at 8583 in March 2014. The town is most notable for the Tarxien Temples, a megalithic temple complex which is among the oldest freestanding structur ...

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 parish of Tarxien was created on May 29, 1592 by Bishop Tomás Gargallo. Works on the parish church started during the start of the 17th century, the traditional date being May 5, 1610. The church was built on the site of 3 respective chapels. It was recorded that by 1621 the construction was still in progress and that in 1627 works on the architecture was completed. By 1636 the church had two spires. In 1740 the side chapels were built, three on each side of the church. During the 18th century the church underwent extensive changes in its structure and architecture especially in its facade. The church was consecrated on May 8, 1782.

Interior

There are a total of 11 side altars in their respective chapels and one high altar dedicated to the Annunciation of Jesus. The high altar, which was in use prior to the changes brought by the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

, is made of marble and is the work of Antonio Nikolas of

Senglea Senglea ( mt, L-Isla ), also known by its title Città Invicta (or Civitas Invicta), is a fortified city in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It is one of the Three Cities in the Grand Harbour area, the other two being Cospicua and Vittorios ...

. The high altar was blessed on October 19, 1779. The titular painting depicting the Annunciation is the work of

Pietro Gagliardi Pietro Gagliardi (9 August 1809 – 19 September 1890) was an Italian painter and architect, who decorated many churches and palaces in Rome and throughout Italy. Biography Gagliardi was born in Rome on 9 August 1809 to Francesco (of Campania ...

dating from 1874.

References

{{Subject bar , portal1= Catholicism , portal2= Malta Tarxien 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Limestone churches in Malta

History

Interior

See also

References