St Mary's Church, Għaxaq

Parish Church of the Assumption of Mary
Parish Church of the Assumption of Mary
Il-Knisja Parrokjali tal-Assunzjoni tal-Verġni Marija
	The church in 2010
	35°50′57.5″N 14°31′02.4″E / 35.849306°N 14.517333°E
Location	Għaxaq
Country	Malta
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Status	Active
Founded	1511
Dedication	Assumption of Mary
Consecrated	2 May 1784
Architecture
Functional status	Parish church
Architectural type	Church
Style	baroque; Doric (facade)
Groundbreaking	1723
Completed	1760
Specifications
Materials	Limestone
Administration
Archdiocese	Archdiocese of Malta
Parish	Għaxaq
Clergy
Priest(s)	Anton D’ Amato

The Parish Church of the Assumption of Mary is a Baroque Roman Catholic parish church located in the village of Għaxaq, Malta.

History

Records show that since 1511, a church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary stood where the current church stands today. When Għaxaq became an independent parish in 1626, the church became the parish church. The church was modified and enlarged multiple times, notably in 1655. Nonetheless, a new Baroque church was built instead between 1723 and 1760. The new church was consecrated on May 2, 1784.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Interior

The church includes a number of artifacts, amongst these the titular statue of the Blessed Virgin, carved in wood by Mariano Gerada in 1808. Another statue which could be found in this church is that of Saint Joseph which was made by Fratelli Bertarelli of Milan in Italy in the year 1932 and is also carved in wood. The paintings which decorate the church's ceiling were painted by Emvin Cremona during the 1960s while other works of art date back to the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries mostly painted by famous Maltese artists: Gio Nicola Buhagiar, Francesco Zahra, Rokku Buhagiar and Gianni Vella among others.