The Archpresbyterial and Archmatrix Church of the Assumption of Mary also simply known as St Mary's Parish Church is a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

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 ...

serving the village of

Gudja Gudja is a village in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta, with a population of 3,148 as of March 2017. The village is located on high grounds, south of the capital Valletta. It is administered by the Gudja Local Council. A numb ...

, in

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 ...

History

The parish of Bir Miftuħ, part of present-day Gudja, was one of the medieval parishes mentioned in the report by Bishop Senatore de Mello in 1436. The parish church was that of St Mary's Bir Miftuħ. After the population of the village grew it eventually moved away from the medieval centre. Consequently, the present Parish church of St Mary was built in 1656 on plans by Thomas Dingli. Construction was completed by 1666. The church was consecrated on December 11, 1785. In 1858 a third bell tower was added. In fact it is the only church in Malta with three bell towers. The third tower differs from the two original baroque towers. It was built in the Neoclassical style on plans by William Baker, hence the tower's name as the William Baker Tower."Gudja Parish Church"
''Malta.com''. Retrieved on 30 May 2017.

Interior

The titular painting is that of the Assumption of the Virgin, painted by Italian artist Pietro Gagliardi in 1877. The same painter was commissioned for the Our Lady of Mount Carmel painting in 1879. Another notable painting is The Death of Saint Joseph, by Italian artist Domenico Bruschi in 1884. The most important sculpture, inside the church, is the titular statue of the Assumption of Our Lady, sculpted out of solid wood, in 1807, by the Maltese

Vincenzo Dimech Vincenzo Dimech (29 June 1768 – 2 February 1831) was a Maltese people, Maltese sculptor. He is best known for his religious sculptures, which include the titular statues of Gudja and Floriana. He also sculpted monuments or architectural feature ...

. It is the oldest statue in the Maltese Islands when featuring the Assumption of Our Lady.

References

External links

* {{Parish churches in Malta and Gozo 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta Gudja 1658 establishments in Malta Limestone churches in Malta