The Parish Church of St Andrew 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 letter ...

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 activitie ...

located in Luqa,

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 ...

Early times

The first time that the church of St Andrew of Luqa was mentioned was towards the end of the 15th century though it seems that the church was not in a good state, thus a new one was built from 1539 till 1542.

Dusina's apostolic visit

In 1575, the Apostolic visitor

Pietro Dusina Pietro Dusina was an Italian Roman Catholic priest from Brescia who was the inquisitor and apostolic delegate to Malta between 1574 and 1575. Dusina was nominated inquisitor of Malta by Pope Gregory XIII on 3 July 1574, and he arrived on the is ...

reports that in that year the church of St Andrew was the main church of the village though it had no priest to administer the sacraments. Moreover, Dusina reports that the high altar had no titular painting. Consequently, he ordered that one be painted and installed. Dusina's report also mentions that the church had two side altars dedicated to Christ the Saviour and Our Lady. The painting of Christ the Saviour depicted Christ in his transfiguration together with Paul the Apostle, Saint Roch and

Saint Sebastian Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocl ...

. Dusina also reports that the altar of Our Lady did not have a painting though that same year one was commissioned that depicted the Nativity of Mary but which later was changed into the Nativity of Jesus. In 1600 the titular painting of the church was mentioned for the first time. It was done by Filippo Dingli and depicted Our Lady with

St Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Pete ...

and

St Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. In 1607 Mass began to be celebrated daily in this church.

Separate parish

In 1634 Luqa became a separate parish from Bir Miftuh and Reverend Agostino Cassia was installed as the first parish priest. Also, in 1634 it was decided to build a new parish church and construction started the same year on the site where there were three chapels dedicated to St Julian, St Anthony of Egypt and the Visitation respectively. The church was designed by Reverend Gulju Muscat.

Present church

The present church was inspired by the Co-Cathedral in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 was ...

with a

Mannerist architecture Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...

on the exterior and a

baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...

on the interior. It was built on the designs of Dun Giulju Muscat. Its construction started in 1634 and completed in 1635. It is recorded that on 9 November 1636, Bishop Balaguer visited the church and administered the sacrament of

Confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an wikt:affirmation, affirma ...

for the first time in this church. During that day Bishop Balaguer encouraged the people of Luqa to work hard in order to build the new parish church. In 1643 a new titular painting of St Andrew, done by Ludovico La Sala, was installed in the church. By 1644 the choir, two chapels, the dome and part of the transept were finished. During that year it is recorded that Bishop Balaguer made a pastoral visit to the parish of Luqa. In 1654 the first altar in the transept, dedicated to St Luke, was finished. Luqa derives its name from St Luke (San Luqa in Maltese). In 1655 Stefano Erardi painted the Nativity of Jesus. In 1665 the church building was nearly completed though it still lacked sculptured stone and the bell towers. In 1667 the organ was installed in the new parish church. The church of St Andrew also acquired a painting of the Assumption by Mattia Preti in 1669 and a new titular painting depicting St Andrew's martyrdom in 1687 by the same artist. Saint_Andrew's_Church_Luqa_Malta

In 1691 the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

of the church of St Andrew was given a baroque style look. Works were carried out by Giuseppe Casanova the following year. In 1699 two bell towers were built on designs by Lorenzo Gafà. In 1757 the

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

of the church was finished. It was carved in wood by Pietru Saliba. In 1779 the titular statue of St Andrew was sculpted in wood by Giuseppe Scolaro. On 7 December 1783 the new parish church was consecrated by Bishop Vincenzo Labini. In 1785 Bishop Labini ordered that a set of

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imita ...

should be installed in the church. Moreover, the same bishop commissioned a new organ for the church which was brought from Naples in 1792. In 1813 four new statues were built outside the church in a time when the village was infected with the plague. Between 1901 and 1910 the church was further enlarged, but was nearly completely destroyed by enemy bombing during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

considering the fact that it is so close to the airport. It was rebuilt between 1945 and 1954 and re-consecrated by Archbishop Gonzi on 26 September 1962. The extension of the church and the rebuilding of the copula are of the design by Andrea Micallef. The church 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 ...

References

{{Parish churches in Malta and Gozo 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta Luqa Baroque church buildings in Malta Church buildings with domes National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Roman Catholic churches completed in 1636 Mannerist architecture in Malta 1636 establishments in Malta