St. Francis of Assisi (Qawra)
The St. Franz-von-Assisi-Kirche (German for Church of St Francis of Assisi ; Maltese San Frangisk t'Assisi ) is a Catholic parish church in the Maltese city of San Pawl il-Baħar in the district of Qawra, Annetto Caruana Street . The church building was completed in 1996 according to plans by the architect Richard England and consecrated to the church patron Francis of Assisi in 1999 .
history
The origins of the Qawra community date back to the mid-1950s. With the expansion of the settlement of St. Paul's Bay, the Christians built a prayer chapel in the immediate vicinity of their summer homes to celebrate the Eucharist here . When the chapel was no longer sufficient for the growing population, services were held in two garages from 1955. In 1963 the congregation laid the foundation stone for a church building in the Bugibba district, which was completed in 1968, but the church did not initially have a name. Now the trade fairs could be held all year round. In 1979 Archbishop Joseph Mercieca consecrated the church to Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe , and masses were celebrated daily at the same time .
The current district of Qawra developed gradually, especially in the summer months, many thousands of Maltese lived here. Christian tourists also came to visit the place and hotels were built. The Kolbe Church soon hardly took all the visitors. In 1988, the responsible parish of Bugibba decided to purchase land in Qawra in the vicinity of a monastery in order to be able to build a new sacred building on it.
Now the architect Richard England designed a church complex in the modern style , the construction of which began with the laying of the foundation stone on March 27, 1991. Because the name of the church patron had already been chosen, church commissioners brought the first stone directly from Assisi . Before the church building was inaugurated, the completed crypt was used for masses from 1994 onwards.
Under the direction of Pastor George Parish Zammit, a community center was established until 1995, which mainly organized Christian teaching for children. This facility was followed by the expansion to a pastoral center, which started its work in 1998 and also included new buildings for the monastery and its own chapel Tas-Sacrament ( Holy Sacrament ).
The church was completed in 1996. On August 11, 1999, Archbishop Joseph Mercieca consecrated the sacred building to the church patron Francis of Assisi .
A decree of December 8, 2004 raised the Qawra parish to an independent parish, the church has been a parish church since then .
architecture
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The church has an unusual floor plan. In the core, two round buildings with different diameters (18 m and 30 m) are arranged side by side. The complex is framed or vaulted by a triangular structure, the corners of which are marked with towering round towers, the side lengths of the isosceles triangle are 34 m. A smaller triangle with sides 19 m long is inscribed in the triangular area, rotated by 180 degrees, the corners of which are also occupied by vertical round towers. The height of the upper triangle compared to street level is about 35 m, the turrets are several meters higher. The very irregular surface of the church can be estimated at 2700 square meters.
The arrangement in different triangular shapes suggests that the Holy Trinity was symbolized here .
The expressionist modern design language continues in the surrounding community and monastery buildings, which are limited in height to three floors and incorporate round and semicircular elements. They are grouped symmetrically around the actual sacred building on the entire property, some of which are structurally connected to it. Nevertheless, there is enough space left between all buildings.
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The architect had discussed his design with local monks, among others, and largely took their suggestions into account. Clear structures and smooth facades in light colors (red triangular slightly raised roof, blue vertical facade surface on the detached upper east side of the main building) are interrupted by simple right-angled windows. Without any static functions, indicated historical buttresses are placed on opposite parts of the structure (southeast and northwest) of the nave. Their support struts serve as planters. A long inclined staircase leads from the northeast side to the main room. Solar cells are installed on the roof of ancillary buildings in the southwest area of the church property.
The interior is also executed in clear forms, the concrete surfaces of the walls shine in white, larger areas are also clad with local limestone and the church windows are not colored. In addition to the altar and crucifix, the furnishings also include an organ on the gallery, some statues and the aforementioned crypt . The seating consists of individual white plastic armchairs.
In the immediate vicinity of the church, new monastery buildings with adapted architectural styles were built, in which the Franciscans began their work in 1995.
Holy masses
On Sundays and public holidays, masses are held in English in the mornings (8 a.m., 9.30 a.m., 11 a.m.) , and the service is held in Maltese at 6.30 p.m. There are three masses on weekdays (7:30 am, 8:30 am, 6:30 pm) and two on Saturdays (6:30 pm; 8:00 pm).
- Pastor
From 1991 to around 2009, Father George Parish Zammit was the first pastor of the Qawra congregation. In the 2010s, Father Christopher Galdes was called to serve as the parish's second priest.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ All dimensions of the church complex are roughly measured with the help of Google Earth , a separate inspection of the site and a short conversation with the user: 44Penguins with the staff of the church council in November 2016 led to some detailed statements.
- ^ Parish church in Qawra
- ↑ Generated from the Maltese website of the municipality with Google Translate. February 2017.
Coordinates: 35 ° 56 '53.9 " N , 14 ° 25' 1" E