St Mary's Church, Gudja
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Church of St Mary | |
|---|---|
| Archpresbyterial and Archmatrix Church of the Assumption of Mary | |
Il-knisja Arċipretali u Arci-Matriċi tal-Assunzjoni tal-Verġni Marija | |
![]() Church of St Mary | |
| 35°50′53.4″N 14°30′08.7″E / 35.848167°N 14.502417°E | |
| Location | Gudja |
| Country | Malta |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| History | |
| Status | Active |
| Dedication | Assumption of Mary |
| Consecrated | 11 December 1785 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Parish church |
| Architect | Tommaso Dingli |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Baroque |
| Specifications | |
| Number of spires | 3 |
| Materials | Limestone |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Malta |
| Parish | Gudja |
| Clergy | |
| Archpriest | Rev Norman Zammit |
The Archpresbyterial and Archmatrix Church of the Assumption of Mary also simply known as St Mary's Parish Church is a Baroque Roman Catholic parish church serving the village of Gudja, in Malta.
The parish of Bir Miftuħ, part of present-day Gudja, was one of the medieval parishes mentioned in the report by Bishop Senatore de Mello in 1436. The parish church was that of St Mary's Bir Miftuħ. After the population of the village grew it eventually moved away from the medieval centre. Consequently, the present Parish church of St Mary was built in 1656 on plans by Thomas Dingli.[1] Construction was completed by 1666.[2] The church was consecrated on December 11, 1785. In 1858 a third bell tower was added. In fact it is the only church in Malta with three bell towers. The third tower differs from the two original baroque towers. It was built in the Neoclassical style on plans by William Baker, hence the tower's name as the William Baker Tower.[3]
