Our Saviour's Church or more formally The Parish Church of the Transfiguration of Jesus 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 ...

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

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

Lija Lija ( mt, Ħal Lija) is a small village in the Central Region of Malta. It forms part of the Three villages of Malta, along with Attard and Balzan. Lija has a baroque parish church and seven other small chapels. The parish church is dedicated ...

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 Lija was created on February 6, 1594. The cornerstone for the church was laid by Bishop

Davide Cocco Palmieri Davide Cocco Palmieri was an Italian, Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Malta from 1684 until 1711. Biography Cocco Palmieri was born in Southern Italy in March 1632. He was ordained priest of the Sovereign Military Order of Mal ...

on May 20, 1694. The church was built on designs made by

Giovanni Barbara Giovanni Barbara (1642–1728) was a Maltese architect and military engineer. He was born in the town of Lija. He was ''Capomastro delle Opere della Religione'', the principal architect of the Order of St. John, from 1681 until Francesco Zerafa ...

and was finished by July 1702. The church was completely finished in 1782 and blessed by Bishop

Vincenzo Labini Vincenzo Labini (28 April 1735 – 30 April 1807) was an Italian archbishop who served as Bishop of Malta from 1780 till 1807. Biography Labini was born in Bitonto, Italy on April 28, 1735. In 1758 he was ordained priest of the Sovereign Milita ...

on July 25, 1782.

Interior

The interior of the church is modelled on the

Tuscan order The Tuscan order (Latin ''Ordo Tuscanicus'' or ''Ordo Tuscanus'', with the meaning of Etruscan order) is one of the two classical orders developed by the Romans, the other being the composite order. It is influenced by the Doric order, but with u ...

with traces of

Doric order The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...

. The titular painting depicts the

Transfiguration of Jesus In the New Testament, the Transfiguration of Jesus is an event where Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant in glory upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels (, , ) describe it, and the Second Epistle of Peter also refers to it (). In these a ...

and is the work of

Mattia Preti Mattia Preti (24 February 1613 – 3 January 1699) was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Saint John. Life Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was called ''Il Cava ...

dating from 1698. The same artist also painted two works depicting St Luke and St Matthew, respectively. Other notable works include Our Lady of the Rosary by

Alessio Erardi Alessio Erardi (1669–1727) was a Maltese painter. He was the son of the artist Stefano Erardi and his wife Caterina Buttigieg. He initially studied art with his father, and eventually spent five and a half years in Rome between 1695 and 1701. H ...

dating from 1702. There are also works by

Francesco Zahra Francesco Vincenzo Zahra ( mt, Franġisk Żahra, 15 December 1710 – 19 August 1773) was a Maltese painter who mainly painted religious works in the Neapolitan Baroque style. His works may be found in many churches around the Maltese Islands, as ...

depicting the Guardian Angels dating from 1757. Giuseppe Hyzler painted Our lady of Mount Carmel in the mid 19th century. One can also find a painting of the Holy Cross by

Giuseppe Calì Giuseppe Calì (14 August 1846 – 1 March 1930) was a Maltese painter of Italian descent. Biography Born in Valletta, Calì was baptised at the Dominican Parish Church of Porto Salvo, one of the seven offsprings of the artist and musici ...

dating from 1891. Other artists such as Giuseppe D'Arena, Lazzru Pisani and Giuseppe Calleja. The paintings in the apse are the work of Ignazio Cortis dating from 1873 while that on the ceiling and the dome are the work of Giuseppe Cali."Il-Knisja Parrokkjali ta' Kristu s-Salvatur"
''Local Councils''. Retrieved on 25 February 2017.

References

{{Parish churches in Malta and Gozo 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta Lija Baroque church buildings in Malta Church buildings with domes National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands