St. Catherine's Old Church, Żejtun

About

St Catherine's Old Church (Maltese: Knisja ta' Santa Katerina l-Antika), also known as St Gregory's Church (Maltese: Knisja ta' San Girgor), is a Roman Catholic church in Żejtun. The church and its complex sit towards the outskirts of the town, commanding views over Marsascala Bay, St Thomas' Bay and Marsaxlokk harbour. The church is colloquially known as Saint Gregory's due to a traditional procession held on the first Wednesday following Easter Sunday. Its dedication to Catherine of Alexandria dates back to an original chapel on this site, which was one of the eight mother churches on Malta. The church stands next to the three cemeteries of Żejtun, dedicated to St Rocco, St Gregory and St Catherine. The church's functions as the parish church of Żejtun were taken over by a new parish church, also dedicated to St Catherine, and designed by Lorenzo Gafà. The present day church was built on the site of an older 15th century chapel, also dedicated to St Catherine, along with an adjacent private chapel dedicated to St Mark and St Jacob. Late medieval texts prove that the church became a landmark for seafarers. Over the years, the chapel was restructured and enlarged, with the demolition...

The church sits at the end of a saddle-backed ridge, running between Marsaxlokk, and St Thomas' Bay and Marsascala. The other end of the ridge lies at the end of Delimara peninsula. The existing road network in area appears to have been largely formed by the early modern period. However, parts of it may be much older. The positioning of St Catherine's Old Church appears to have been tied with the districts served by the parish. The church stands within 250 metres (820 ft) from the remains of a Roman villa.

By walking across some fields due south of this villa, the existing road descends through Ras il-Wied to Marsaxlokk Bay, with the route representing the most efficient path from Żejtun down to the bay. The present-day road runs from St Catherine's old church along the spine of the ridge, towards Xrobb l-Għaġin, before climbing the knoll of Tas-Silġ and descending to Marsaxlokk. This is not the most efficient route for the transportation of bulk commodities from Żejtun to the bay, and may have been shaped by historic considerations, such as linking the Roman villa with Tas-Silġ.

The area also includes a number of Punic remains. A rock-cut tomb was discovered in June 1992, during the construction of an extension to the cemeteries near the church.

The origins of the church are unclear. In the 19th century, historians linked the foundation of the church with the expulsion of the Arabs, following Count Roger 's presumed raid in 1090/91. These links betrayed attempts to pre-date the veneration of St Catherine of Alexandria with the Byzantine-Greek community living on Malta prior to the Muslim invasions of the 9th century. Modern historians, however, argue that Christianity in Malta was reintroduced by King Roger in 1127, and consolidated itself thereafter. Following Sicily, and on the Byzantine character of the iconography of post-Islamic times, it appears that Greek influence at first was supreme, though the Normans themselves usually favoured the Latin clergy, especially the higher clergy.

Some historians maintain that the foundations of the old parish of Żejtun date back as early as the 12th century, when the musical sector of the Cathedral of Mdina was instituted, and the original chapel is in fact believed to have been built on land that formed part of the revenue of the Cathedral precentor – “ La prebenda di santa Caterina. ” The church continued to be funded by the Cathedral Precentor over the following centuries, with the coats of arms of several of incumbents appearing on the vestry walls.

In any case, by the 14th century, a small early medieval chapel dedicated to St Catherine served the south eastern region of Malta. It was already a parish church in the early 15th century, and was one of the eight mother churches on Malta. In fact, in 1436, the church appeared in the de Mello rollo. Bishop Senatore de Mello asked four cathedral canons to investigate and list all prebends, canons and other beneficiaries in the diocese of Malta, as well as the incomes and the names of all priests benefiting from these sources. In this list, or rollo, twelve chapels are listed as the first form of the islands' parishes. The chapel of St Catherine of Żejtun was included in this list under the village name ' Bisqallin.'

This chapel stood halfway between the two old cores of Żejtun, that is, half a mile distant from Bisqallin and Ħal Bisbut. This chapel had a rectangular shape, with a simple façade. It had a pointed arched entrance and roofed with the local xorok method. Probably, the present church was built on the footprint of the old chapel, with the current building's nave now corresponding with the old chapel walls. The old chapel's façade, however, was turned northwards – as is a statue of St Gregory just outside the church grounds – and faced the Cathedral of Mdina, the old medieval capital in the centre of the island. The small and primitive medieval chapel served as the parish church of Żejtun for a long period of time.

The lands administered from this chapel were very large. The parish incorporated the whole south-eastern portion of Malta, and was the farthest parish from the fortified city of Mdina. All the lands making up today's Żejtun, Ħaż-Żabbar, Ħal Għaxaq, San Ġorġ ta’ Birzebbugia, Marsaxlokk, Delimara, St Thomas' Bay and Marsascala, as well as a number of other small villages and lost hamlets, all fell under the parish's direct responsibility.

In addition to this wide territorial responsibility, or possibly because of it, the Church enjoyed a greater variety of ecclesiastical services and celebrations when compared to the other early parishes in Malta, with the Church being second only to the Mdina Cathedral.

By 1470, the church building had become a recognised national and international landmark and shrine, with sailors commending themselves for the saint's intercession: " God help us and St. Catherine of Malta. " In fact, on the outer walls of the church, there are various maritime related graffiti. St Catherine was the protector of sailors and those who work in lighthouses. Other graffiti include the star of David punctured by an arrow.

The original chapel remained in use until 1492, when it was rebuilt and enlarged. This was commemorated by an inscription, which has since been lost. The Maltese historian Gian Francesco Abela noted how the church was rebuilt, quoting this inscription in his writings. The same inscription was repeated by A. Ferris in 1866 and E.B. Vella in 1927. While there is a faded and partial Latin inscription in the dome, this reads differently from the one reported in other sources. According to this later inscription, the church was enlarged in 1606 during the episcopate of Bishop Gargallo, and the office of archpriest M. Burlo. This further enlargement must have consisted in the addition of a transept vaulted with a true Gothic quadripartite vault, which is an unusual feature in Maltese churches. The church also has a sizable parvis.

Using information from the apostolic visit by Mgr. Pietro Dusina in 1575, Gian Francesco Abela noted how the Cathedral precentor drew around 500 scudi in annual income from the lands belonging to St Catherine's Old Church.

According to a number of inscriptions, the bosses of the arches' intersections in the rib-groins were erected in 1593 and 1603 respectively. With the addition of the transept, this was the first church in Malta to be given the form of a latin cross. With the crossing of the main axis of the enlarged church, and the construction of a new transept, a dome was probably erected in 1606, the date in the dome inscription. The dome is low and saucer-like in shape, and is probably one of the earliest examples still in existence in Malta.

The main façade has a Renaissance doorway, with flanked by a set of pilasters crowned by an architrave, a cornice and a circular oculus in the masonry above. A small bell-cot, probably added later and constructed out of reused stones, rests on the gable, which straightens out on each side with a low parapet wall. Both the transept and the parapet walls are buttressed externally. The buttresses on the nave walls were added in the 19th century, and were the design of Giuseppe Hyzler. The buttress supporting the transept's walls, however, is larger and far older – giving the eastern side of the church the appearance of a fortress.

In fact, the church was used as part of the defences of the Hospitaller Knights of St John the Baptist against the Ottoman Turks. The new transept, nearly a third higher than the nave, provided commanding views of the nearby bays. High within the walls of the transept, a corridor was inserted with windows lined up on the sites of two new low lying forts, which were to be built at St Thomas, Marsascala, and St Lucian in Marsaxlokk. Hence, St Catherine's old church became an intermediate military signalling point, forewarning Mdina, Cottonera and Valletta about any attack by Ottoman navy ships entering these nearby ports.

On July 6, 1614, an Ottoman force of sixty ships (including 52 galleys ) under the command of Khalil Pasha tried to land at Marsaxlokk Bay, but were repelled by the artillery from the newly constructed St Lucian Tower. The fleet laid anchor at St Thomas Bay in Marsaskala, and landed 5,000 to 6,000 men unopposed. Some of the Ottomans attacked St Lucian Tower, while the rest of the force pillaged the village of Żejtun. The raiders burnt the farms and fields of the area, and damaged St Catherine's Old Church. The attack is described in a commemorative plaque engraved close to the main altar of the church, which states that:

"In the early hours of Sunday, July 6, 1614, a Turkish army landed from 60 galleys, disembarking six thousand men in the place called Ghizira in Saint Thomas’ creek. The Turks raided the nearby casali, arriving right up to the farmlands held under the feud of Bulebel. They sacked these townships, burnt farmland and did much damage to the main church of Saint Catherine’s and all the others. Many were caught and killed, and they were made to retire back to the quays. No Christian was captured, but twenty were injured in the attack. From that day until September 11, 1614, all those born in this parish had to be baptised elsewhere. Extracted from the second book of baptisms for this parish."

The finding of human bones in a number of secret passages of this church was, for many years, linked with this attack.

During the Maltese uprising against the French, the church was fortified and used as a hospital for wounded soldiers.