The Church of St Francis 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 ...

church building 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 p ...

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 ...

, situated in St Francis Square. Adjacent to the church is the convent of the

Conventual Franciscans The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites. Dating back to ...

History

The original convent and church of St Francis date back to 1492. The original church was dedicated to

St Mark Mark the Evangelist ( la, Marcus; grc-gre, Μᾶρκος, Mârkos; arc, ܡܪܩܘܣ, translit=Marqōs; Ge'ez: ማርቆስ; ), also known as Saint Mark, is the person who is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark. Accor ...

. 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 António Manoel de Vilhena (28 May 1663 – 10 December 1736) was a Portuguese nobleman who was the 66th Prince and Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem from 19 June 1722 to his death in 1736. Unlike a number of the other Grand Ma ...

visited the convent and church in 1742. He stayed there from 5 June till 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 visit. In December 1890 the church was closed to the public by order of the government as it was seen to be unfit 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 Giovanni Maria Camilleri (15 March 1843 – 7 November 1924) was a Maltese prelate who became the fourth bishop of Gozo. Life Camilleri was born in Valletta, Malta on March 15, 1843. At the age of 24 he was ordained priest of the Order of St ...

, bishop of Gozo, in 1906. 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 titular painting of the church depicts St Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata. It was painted by

Jean-Baptiste van Loo Jean-Baptiste van Loo (14 January 1684 – 19 December 1745) was a French subject and portrait painter. Life and career He was born in Aix-en-Provence, and was instructed in art by his father Louis-Abraham van Loo, son of Jacob van Loo. Hav ...

. 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."St Francis Church"
Retrieved on 10 October 2014.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

A feast for the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

of Mary is celebrated every year on 8 December. The feat dates back to 1663 when a Confraternity of the

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.

References

{{Citta Victoria 1492 establishments in Europe Franciscan churches in Malta Victoria, Gozo National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Roman Catholic churches completed in 1663 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta 15th-century establishments in Malta

History

Works of Art

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

See also

References