The Basilica of the Nativity of Mary or Basilica of Our Lady of Victories is a Roman Catholic

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 at

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 ...

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 dedicated to the Nativity of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

History

It was most probably built by the architect

Vittorio Cassar Vittorio Cassar ( mt, Vitor Cassar, 1550 – 1609), born Gio Vittorio Cassar, was a Maltese architect and military engineer. The son of the renowned architect Girolamo Cassar, he was admitted as a knight within the Order of St. John in 1587. H ...

in 1580 as a monument to the Christian Victory after the

Great Siege of 1565 The Great Siege of Malta ( Maltese: ''L-Assedju l-Kbir'') occurred in 1565 when the Ottoman Empire attempted to conquer the island of Malta, then held by the Knights Hospitaller. The siege lasted nearly four months, from 18 May to 13 September ...

. Senglea became a parish in 1581, and was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on 20 October 1743. On 21 May 1786,

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI ( it, Pio VI; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799. Pius VI condemned the French Revoluti ...

declared the church to be a "collegiata insignis" (distinguished collegiate church), while in 1921,

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...

honoured the church with the title of

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

. After the crowning of the statue of the Virgin Mary on 4 September 1921, the church became a sanctuary of the Virgin Mary. The church was destroyed by bombs in 1941, but was rebuilt and consecrated by Archbishop Gonzi on 24 August 1956. The church building is listed on the

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands The National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands (NICPMI) is a heritage register listing the cultural property of Malta. The inventory includes properties such as archaeological sites, fortifications, religious buildings, mon ...

Works of art

The main attraction of the basilica, a wooden statue of Mary, known as ''Il-Bambina'', was carved in 1618, painted in 1631 and gilded. The sculptor of this statue is still unknown. After the coronation of the statue of Mary in 1921, the church became a sanctuary. The crown contains diamonds and other precious stones. Around the statue are four silver angels created in 1934. In 1956 another existing marble statue, which was consecrated in 1956 was erected. There are four busts of Pope Benedict XV, Archbishop Mauro Caruana, the symbol of Senglea and the Grand Master La Sengle. The columns show 16 saints who are connected with Maria: Four Evangelists, four popes, four Doctors of the Church and the four founders of Christian orders. Furthermore, the church houses seven bells.

Manuscripts

In the Basilica there are many manuscripts dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries. These are located in the Archives and Study Room of the Basilica, located behind the main building. The study room is named after Dom Mauro Inguanez, a Senglea-born Benedictine abbott at

Montecassino Abbey Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first ho ...

. He was instrumental in saving various manuscripts when the abbey was bombarded in 1944, during WW2. Inguanez was instrumental in the bestowing of the title of minor basilica to the Senglea parish as well as the crowning of the statue of the Virgin Mary. Notable manuscripts found in the archives include a diary written by Francesco Saverio Baldacchino. This diary can shed light on the last years of the Knights in Malta, the

French occupation of Malta The French occupation of Malta lasted from 1798 to 1800. It was established when the Order of Saint John surrendered to Napoleon Bonaparte following the French landing in June 1798. In Malta, the French established a constitutional tradition in M ...

and the early year of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

rule. Currently, this diary is being studied and transcribed by Maltese scholars at the University of Malta.

References

External links

The Basilica on the Archdiocese of Malta website

{{Parish churches in Malta and Gozo Churches completed in 1580 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta Collegiate churches in Malta Senglea Basilica churches in Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands

History

Works of art

Manuscripts

See also

References

External links