The Xaghra monumental church

Abstract

The village of Xagħra stands on a sprawling plateau which has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Around the 13th century, the rise in population of the village led the well-known Gozitan Noble family of Camire and Ħinzi to build a chapel in honour of Saint Anthony the Abbot at the area commonly known as Tal-Qaċċa. However, this too proved to be too small for the needs of the villagers and thus the parishioners started planning to build a new parish church which would better serve the population. This was to be constructed in the centre of the village on public land donated by Fra Gregorio Carafa, the Grand Master of the Order of Saint John. Some Sicilians residing in Xagħra helped the locals in building a larger place of worship at the site of the present church choir. This earned it the nickname of ‘Tal-Isqallin’ (The Sicilians’). It was completed and started to function on 12th May 1692. At first it was dedicated to Our Lady of Divine Grace, but soon afterwards, on October 9th of the same year, it was dedicated to the Nativity of Our Lady.