The Church of St Francis of Assisi ( mt, Knisja ta' San Franġisk t'Assisi) 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 Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

Ħamrun Hamrun (; ) is a town in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta, with a population of 9,244 as of March 2014. The people The townspeople are traditionally known as ''Tas-Sikkina'' (literally meaning 'of the knife' or 'those who c ...

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 was built between 1952 and 1954.

History

The

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...

established a small chapel in

on 16 August 1947, and it was located in a converted garage. This chapel was meant to be temporary, and the Order began to search for a plot of land on which to build a permanent church soon afterwards. After the site was chosen, construction of the church began with the first stone being laid down on 13 April 1952 by Tarcisju Xerri, the Order's superior. The church was built to designs of the architect

Ġużè Damato Ġużè or Joseph Damato (13 December 1886 – 25 May 1963) was a Maltese architect who designed a number of churches and other ecclesiastical buildings during the 20th century. He was a pioneer of the use of reinforced concrete in Malta, and his ...

. The building was opened to the public on 30 October 1954 and it was consecrated by Archbishop

Mikiel Gonzi Sir Michael Count Gonzi, (born Mikiel Gonzi: 13 May 1885 – 22 January 1984), was Roman Catholic Archbishop of Malta from 1944 until 1976. He had been enthroned as Bishop of Malta in December 1943, and was consecrated as the first Archbisho ...

in May 1955. The church falls under the jurisdiction of the parish of the Immaculate Conception of Ħamrun.

Architecture

The church has a simple Roman style, and it is built out of local

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

. The latter is used for the roof and octagonal dome, while stone is used for the church's walls. The building can accommodate 2000 people, and it is and wide including the side aisles. The nave itself has a width of . The church has a large bell tower which is topped by a statue of St Francis sculpted by Marco Montebello and installed on 21 February 1960. Internally, the church contains a main altar and two secondary altars, along with a chapel dedicated to

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Our Lady of Perpetual Help (also known as Our Lady of Perpetual Succour) is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a 15th-century Byzantine icon with an alleged Marian apparition. The icon is believed to have o ...

. A Franciscan convent is located adjacent to the church and the two buildings are connected internally.

Artworks

The church has a titular statue of St Francis accepting his

stigmata Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet. Stigm ...

which was sculpted in marble by Wistin Camilleri, and it also contains marble statues of

Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua ( it, Antonio di Padova) or Anthony of Lisbon ( pt, António/Antônio de Lisboa; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Catholic Church, Catholic priesthood (Cath ...

and 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 ...

which were produced by the Andriani company of

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one o ...

References

External links

* {{commons category inline, Church of St Francis of Assisi, Ħamrun 1954 establishments in Malta Franciscan churches in Malta Ħamrun Limestone churches in Malta Roman Catholic churches completed in 1954 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta