Churches

Parish Church - Our Lady of Mount Carmel [Roman Catholic]

On the 10 July 1902, three foreign soldiers wanted to have a drink at a bar that was situated at the lower end of Manoel de Vilhena Street. The proprietor, Carmel Brincat refused to open up for them as it was late at night. They began to throw stones at the window above the bar. One of the stones hit an image of Our Lady, which was in a glass case, hanging near the window.With the impact of the stone, the case was shattered and the image of Our Lady was torn. Although the stone was quite large and heavy, and although it was a very windy night, still, the stone remained stuck in the broken glass. The following day, the few people who used to live at il-Gżira at the time brought the matter to the notice of the Parish Priest of Stella Maris (Tas-Sliema).

Gżira Parish Church

With the permission of the Bishop, a priest from Stella Maris dislodged the stone and handed it over to the Parish Priest. The Holy Image was taken to Parish Church of Stella Maris in a solemn procession, after which, three days of prayer and atonement were celebrated. From that day on, people used to call the image Our Lady of the Stone.

The holy image was brought back to il-Gżira for the veneration of the people and placed in a store house very near the place of the incident. Later this was replaced by a chapel that had a capacity of 200 people. On 7 July 1913, Monsignor Peter Pace declared the chapel a vice parish. On Pentecost Sunday 15 May 1921, Archbishop Monsignor Dom. Maurus Caruana O.S.B. made it an independent parish.

Because of the increase of the il-Gżira population, it was decided that a larger church be built. The Parish Priest Fr Anton Manche’, worked zealously on this project. The work was taken in hand in 1921 under the supervision of the master builder, Mr Antonio Sammut and it was completed in 1935

The Holy Frame

The sacred image and the stone are still preserved in the church in a side chapel as a memorial and atonement

for the offence that had been committed against Our Lady.

The church is of a Doric style. The facade has two belfries in which there are five bells manufactured on 7 July 1957. The bells were manufactured at the foundery of John Taylor in the United Kingdom at the total cost of Lm 3,949. The initiative to collect funds for the purchase of the bells was taken by the Parish Priest Fr Paul Galea. These were blessed by Archbishop Monsignor Michael Gonzi. On the façade there are two stone statues – St Peter and St Paul. These are the work of Marku Montebello and were completed in 1960.

The titular painting depicting Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the work of Ganni Vella. Other works of Mr Vella are the paintings of St Michael, St George, St. Mary and the Immaculate Conception. The painting of St Joseph is the work of Guze Duca whilst that of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the work of art of Guido Cali’. The paintings of the Annunciation; the Birth of Jesus Christ; and the Baptism of Christ are works of the Maltese Artist Prof Giuzeppe Briffa. Other paintings depict the Shipwreck of St Paul; St Therese and St John de la Salle. In the right hand side chapel there is a very antique Cross.

Titular Statue of Our Lady Titular Statue of Our Lady of The Gżira Parish Church

Mount Carmel - close-up of Mount Carmel

One of the Gżira Parish Office of the Gżira Statue of Our Lady of Sorrows
Church's belfry Parish Priest

In the church there are the statues of Our Lady of Mount Carmel; St Joseph and Baby Jesus; and Our Lady of Sorrows. The statue of Christ risen from death can only be seen in the Church on Easter Sunday on which day the traditional festive procession takes place.

The Parish Priest is Rev Carmelo Tanti and may be contacted at the Parish Priest Office, Manoel de Vilhena Street, il-Gżira. Telephone number is (356) 21335841 and his fax number is (356) 21332419. The website address is http://www.maltadiocese.org/il-gzira?l=1

Mass is celebrated every day at 06.45, 07.30, 08.00, 08.30 a.m. and 06.00 p.m. (Winter) / 06.30 p.m. (Summer).
On Sundays mass is celebrated at 07.00, 08.00, 09.30, 11.00 a.m. and 06.00 p.m. (Winter) / 06.30 p.m. (Summer). Saturday evenings there is mass at 05.00 p.m. and 06.00 p.m. (Winter) / 06.30 p.m. (Summer).

An annual feast dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel is celebrated on the second Sunday of July.

Christ the Redeemer Chapel [Roman Catholic]

The church dedicated to Christ the Redeemer situated at Lower St Albert Street, il-Gżira was built at the expense of Mr Albert Grixti. The architect initially was Mr Arthur F Galea but was entrusted to the son of Mr Grixti who had graduated as an architect whilst the church was still being built. It was completed in the 1930’s.

Since no permission was requested from the Archbishop’s Curia for the building of the Church, the Archbishop refused to bless the Church and thus in 1939 this building was leased to the Government to be used as a stores in preparation for the World War.

After World War II, the Archbishop accepted to bless the Church. An agreement was in fact reached with the Archbishop Curia that the Church would be entrusted to the Agostinian Sisters who lived in the house adjacent to the Church built also by Mr Grixti.

Although the Agostinian Sisters no longer live in this house, mass is still celebrated in this Church. In fact mass is celebrated every day at 6.30 a.m. (winter) and 7.00 a.m. (summer) and on Sundays at 07.00 a.m. Mass is also celebrated on Saturday evening at 6.00 p.m.

Stella Maris Chapel [Roman Catholic]

The School which the Christian Brothers had opened in Villa Schinas in 1904, was transferred to the new school which they built in 1938. Twenty years later the college chapel was opened to the people residing in the College area. Marriages may be celebrated in it. Mass on Sundays is celebrated at 7.00 a.m. and 9.30 a.m. On weekdays mass is celebrated at 6.30 p.m. (Summer) and 6.00 p.m. (Winter) whilst on Saturdays mass is celebrated at 6.30 p.m. during both summer and winter.

Bible Baptist Church

The Bible Baptist Church is an International English Evangelical Baptist Church. On Sundays there is a morning service at 10.15 a.m. and an evening service at 6.30 p.m. (December to April) and at 7.00 p.m. (May to November). A Bible study/Prayer meeting is held on Thursdays at 7.00 p.m. The pastor may be contacted at the following address : Bible Baptist Church, Triq il-Madonna tal-Ġebla, il-Gżira, GZR04, Malta. His telephone number is +356 322752 or +356 340175 or +356 944 2576. The email address is bbcmalta@maltanet.net and the website address is www.biblebaptistchurch-malta.org

Born Again Christians

Office and contacts details:- Pastor Vince and Antoinette Fenech 261 /11.St.Albert Apartments St. Albert Street, il-Gżira, GZR1153 Malta EU Tel +35621337628 or +35679406765 Email vinceant@maltanet.net Website www.fullgospel.eu