MALTA Parsih Churches

Malta Parish Churches

In the Rollo (inventory) of the benefices of the churches, or chapels, in Malta and Gozo, held by 

Bishop Senatore de Mello in 1436, ten distinct chapels are mentioned, which presumably must 

have been acting as parishes in the various villages, since earlier days. Besides the Cathedral at 

Mdina and the Church of San Lorenzo a Mare at Birgu, the following chapels are mentioned:

 Naxxar - the Nativity of the Virgin

 Birkirkara - Saint Helen

 Qormi - St George

 Bir Miftuh (now Gudja) - the Assumption of the Virgin

 Zebbug - Saint Philip of Aggira

 Siggiewi - Saint Nicholas of Bari

 Zejtun - Saint Catherine of Alexandria

 Zurrieq - Saint Catherine of Alexandria

 Hal-Tartani (now Dingli) - Santa Domenica

 Mellieha - the Nativity of the Virgin

It is important to note that Dingli, originally Hal-Tartani was parish before 1436. However it was 

suppressed in 1539 and re-instated by Bishop Baldassare Cagliares on 16th October 1615 to be 

again suppressed in 1668. Bishop Michele Molina re-instated Dingli as a parish on 31st December 

1678.

Mellieha was mentioned as a parish in the inventory by Bishop Senatore de Mello in 1436. 

Because of the lack of inhabitants, the Apostolic Delegate, Mgr Pietro Dusina, in 1575 

suppressed the parish and merged the administration to the parish of Naxxar. Hence a rector 

was appointed. 

Mellieha was re-instated as parish by Bishop Francesco Saverio Caruana on 1st February 1841. 

However this re-instatement was contested by the Naxxar Parish. Mellieha was confirmed parish on 24th May 1842. The official Decree was published on 15th June 1844. Rabat in Malta was styled as a parish from time immemorial. The de Mello Rollo quotes as parishes La Cappella di San Paolo de Fora (which is St Paul's Grotto which was the parish church of Rabat) and Mdina together. At Mdina there was the Cathedral for the whole of Malta while at Rabat there was the seat of the parish for both Rabat and Mdina together. So much so that till the separation of 1902 the archpriest took two pussessi in Mdina as canon archpriest of the Cathedral and in Rabat as parish priest of Rabat and Mdina together. On 18th March 1902 when the population had increased considerably, Mdina and Rabat for the first time became two distinct parishes and for practical reasons Bishop Pietro Pace declared Rabat as a new parish but that was contested in Rome and it was declarde that Rabat was paroecia pre-existens. 

I trust that you keep finding our website useful.

Fr VicGeorge Vassallo

Webmaster

To view the mother churches go to:

http://archives.maltadiocese.org/Portals/0/Issue%205%20-%20Jun%202014.pdf

From Microfilms to Digital Media

The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library began microfilming the archival collections of the Cathedral of Mdina, Malta, in 1973 under the direction of Mgr John Azzopardi. Filming concluded in 1989 after 8,229 books and manuscripts had been filmed. The microfilming project at the cathedral also included books, music manuscripts, and archival materials from other ecclesiastical institutions and private collections in Malta and Gozo. The contents of the materials filmed date from the eleventh to the twentieth century.

Among the various manuscripts microfilmed in Malta we find the Archives of the Archbishop's Curia in Floriana.

The Archives of the Archbishop of Malta contain the diocesan records from 1531 to 1898, along with some miscellaneous items dating from 1450 to 1928. 

The Archdiocese of Malta has transferred all its microfilms into digital media to make them available over the internet.  This will enable the Archives to be more accessible by researchers and the casual visitor alike. 

The Archives of the Archbishop of Malta hold more than is being published here.  Researchers and visitors are more than welcome to visit and do research at the Archives of the Archbishop at the Archbishop's Curia. 

This is an ongoing project and the Archdiocese of Malta is still digitising Manuscripts found especially in the Mater Dei and Sancte Laurenti Archives.

TO START /SEARCHING GO TO:

http://archives.maltadiocese.org