The Basilica of the Nativity of Our Lady () is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

Xagħra Xagħra () is an administrative unit of Malta on the island of Gozo. It is one of the earliest inhabited parts of Gozo, being home to the Ġgantija megalithic temples, which date back to 3600 BC, and the Xagħra Stone Circle. Natural undergroun ...

Gozo Gozo ( ), known in classical antiquity, antiquity as Gaulos, is an island in the Malta#The Maltese archipelago, Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After the Malta Island, island of Malta ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, dedicated to the

Nativity of Mary The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of Mary, Marymas or the Birth of the Virgin Mary, refers to a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of Mary, mother of Jesus. The modern Biblical canon does not record Mary's birth. The ...

. The present building was constructed between 1815 and 1855, on the site of a smaller church which had been built in the 17th century. The dome was added in 1892. The church became a

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

in 1900, and a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

in 1967.

History

The first parish church of Xagħra was a chapel dedicated to St. Anthony the Abbot. It was built in the 13th century, and it became the village's parish church on 28 April 1688. The building still exists, although it has been considerably altered over the centuries. In the late 17th century, a new parish church was constructed on the site of the present building. This was constructed at the request of 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 land given by Grand Master

Gregorio Carafa Fra Gregorio Carafa (17 March 1615 – 21 July 1690) was a nobleman from the House of Carafa and the 61st Grand Master of the Order of Saint John, from 1680 to his death in 1690. Early life Carafa was born on 17 March 1615 in Castelveter ...

, with the aid of some Sicilians. The church was completed on 12 May 1692, and it was originally dedicated to

Our Lady of Graces Our Lady of Graces (Italian: ''Madonna delle Grazie'' or ''Nostra Signora delle Grazie'') or Saint Mary of Graces (Italian: ''Santa Maria delle Grazie'') is a devotion to the Virgin Mary in the Roman Catholic Church. Several churches with this d ...

. It was rededicated to the

on 9 October 1692. It also became commonly known as the church of Our Lady of Victory. The history of the altarpiece is uncertain, but it seems to have been brought from

Senglea Senglea ( ), also known by its title Città Invicta (or Civitas Invicta), is a fortified city in the Port Region of Malta. It is one of the Three Cities in the Grand Harbour area, the other two being Cospicua and Vittoriosa, and has a popu ...

in 1744–51. The artist Carlo Zimech might have made some modifications for it to fit in its new location, although sometimes the entire work is attributed to him. Xagħra's population continued to grow, and by the early 19th century the church had become too small to cater for the village. In 1813, the parish priest Vincenzo Cauchi donated 500

scudi The ''scudo'' (pl. ''scudi'') was the name for a number of coins used in various states in the Italian peninsula from 1551 until the 19th century. The name, like that of the French écu and the Spanish and Portuguese escudo, was derived from t ...

for the construction of a new church, and encouraged the population to donate more funds. The church was designed by the

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Salv Bondin, Cauchi's nephew, who made the plans for free. It was to be built next to the old church, which would be demolished upon completion of the new building. Construction was suspended due to the outbreak of the plague in 1814, which killed 104 people in Xagħra, including Cauchi. The foundation stone was laid down on 2 October 1815 but progress was slow due to a lack of funds. When

Michael Franciscus Buttigieg Michael Franciscus Buttigieg (3 November 1793 – 12 July 1866) was a Maltese prelate who became the first Bishop of Gozo in 1864. Buttigieg was born on November 3, 1793, in Qala, Gozo, Malta and baptized in St Peter and St Paul parish chur ...

became Xagħra's parish priest, he contributed 2100 scudi for construction of the church. The Bishop of Malta,

Publio Maria Sant Publio Maria Sant (26 August 1779 – 28 October 1864) was a Maltese prelate who became bishop of Malta in 1847. Biography Sant was born into a noble family in Valletta on August 26, 1779. His father, Giovanni Francesco, was the 2nd Count Sant wh ...

, donated 4731 scudi, and another 1000 scudi were raised. By 1849, the

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

, the façade, the lateral wall and one of the bell towers had been built. The old church was demolished on 20 November 1850, and part of the building began to be used for religious functions, being blessed on 10 August 1851. With the exception of the dome, the church was completed on 5 January 1855, and it was inaugurated on 14 February 1855. The total cost of construction was 70,000 scudi, 46,000 of which had been free labour by the population. The church was consecrated on 26 May 1878 by the Bishop of Gozo,

Pietro Pace Sir Pietro Pace (9 April 1831 – 29 July 1914) was a senior-ranking Maltese prelate who served as the Titular Archbishop of Rhodes and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta, Bishop of Malta from 1889 until his death in 1914. Biography Archbishop ...

. Construction of the dome began on 17 May 1892, and it was inaugurated on 25 October of the same year. The dome was built by Wiġi Vella from

Żebbuġ Żebbuġ ( ), also known by its title Città Rohan, is a city in the Western Region of Malta. It is one of the oldest towns in the country, and its population is 11,074 as of June 2021. History and origins The parish church is dedicated to P ...

, and the residents participated in its construction. The church was given archipresbyterial status on 11 March 1893, and it became a

on 17 March 1900. It was given the title of

on 26 August 1967. Some restoration works were undertaken between 2000 and 2003. They were supervised by the architect Saviour Micallef, and they included work on the bell towers and adding waterproofing to the roof and cupola. 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 ...

Architecture

The church's façade includes a high plinth, and it is divided into three

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

, with the central one projecting outwards. Each bay contains a portal decorated with mouldings and segmented pediments. A roundel with a relief of the Virgin Mary, topped by a triangular pediment, is found above the central doorway. The central bay's upper tier contains another segmented arch, and an

aedicule In ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (: ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns and typically framing a statue,"aedicula, n." ''O ...

topped by a cross. The edges of each bay are decorated with pilasters having Ionic capitals. The church has two

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

s, located at the upper tiers of the lateral bays. Each tower also includes a clock, found over the blank stonework of part of the façade. The church also has a dome. A large

parvis A parvis or parvise is the open space in front of and around a cathedral or Church (building) , church, especially when surrounded by either colonnades or porticoes, as at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. It is thus a church-specific type of forec ...

is located outside the church, and it includes two statues. The church's interior is decorated with marble, and it also includes stained glass windows.

References

External links

* {{Subject bar , portal1= Catholicism , portal2= Malta Basilica churches in Malta Collegiate churches in Malta 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta Baroque church buildings in Malta Limestone churches in Malta Church buildings with domes Roman Catholic churches completed in 1855 1855 establishments in Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Buildings and structures in Xagħra