Marsaxlokk

Our Lady of Pompeii Parish Church

During the 19th century Marsaxlokk became a popular summer resort and a church dedicated to Our Lady of Pompeii became the parish church of the locality in 1897. Built in 1892, it was at first dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary. In 1943 it was completely rebuilt. Dedication date: 17th Sept 1962.

Chapel - 'I am always with you'

Perpetual Adoration is held in the Chapel 'Domus Mariae' which is situated in a nuns’ convent. It is open to the public Monday to Saturday during certain hours.

Chapel

There is a chapel within the Vendome Tower. This tower was built by, and named after Prince Philip de Vendome as part of the coastal fortifications in 1715. Nowadays it is the headquarters of the Marsaxlokk Football Club.

Byzantine Basilica

Ongoing excavations at ‘Tas-Silg’ have unearthed layers of remains from different civilizations on this site. A temple dedicated to the Phoenician god Astarte was built here which the Carthaginians in turn used for their god Melkart. The Romans in turn used it as a place of worship for the goddess Juno. Malta fell under Byzantine jurisdiction after the fall of Rome. These Christians of the 4th and 5th centuries not only used the same building for worship but extended it into a Basilica. The same main semicircular sanctuary was used right through. From the Byzantine time, remains of a reddish floor decorated with white marble chips were unearthed. Also lately, the ongoing excavations have brought to light a large immersion baptismal font.

Our Lady of Snows

The present church was built in 1833 on the site of an older church built in 1650. In 1933 the church and the building adjacent to it were given to the Discalced Carmelites to be used as a centre for vocations for the Order. Nowadays it is open as a retreat centre as well. Marriages may be celebrated in the church. The area adjacent to the church was always sacred even before Christianity. Archaeological digs unearthed a temple to the Punic god Astarte, later used by the Romans for their gods. Still later it was also turned into a Byzantine Basilica.

Our Lady of Sorrows

This is the chapel in Jesus of Nazareth Institute.

St.Lucian

Mons B.Rull mentioned a chapel existing in the tower of the same name in his report of 1762.

St.Dominic

The noble Testaferrata family built Palazzo Marnisi in 1650 and the St.Dominic chapel in 1683.

St.Nicholas Hal Ginwi

In 1650, Mr John Francis Gauci rebuilt a church, which existed on this site of the village of Hal Ginwi now part of Marsaxlokk.

St.Paul Shipwrecked Xrobb l-Ghagin

Dedicated to St Paul's shipwreck and built in 1740 by Elizabetta Muscat Cassia Dorell it was later abandoned. Marchioness Angelica Moscati Cassia Dorell rebuilt it in 1831. The chapel has a belfry but no bell. A square window stands above a stone cornice, which decorates the door to the church. Angelo Muscat Cassia Dorell restored it in 1931. This is a chapel situated on private property and is nowadays not nearly visible for the high growth of trees, which surround it. From what can be seen it seems to be deteriorating rapidly again.

St.Peter (Dominican Martyr)

Finished and blessed in 1682 on the plans of Lorenzo Gafa. It was extended in 1865 and in it are buried several of the members of the family who owned it.