St George's Basilica or the Basilica and Collegiate Parish Church of Saint George, also simply known in Maltese as San Ġorġ (), is a historic Baroque church situated in the middle of Gozo, the second largest island in the Maltese archipelago, and is surrounded by a maze of old narrow streets and alleys. The church had been rebuilt numerous times during the Middle Ages. Today's basilica was built between 1672 and 1678.

This is not to be confused with another church by the same name, located in Qormi on the main island, Malta.

History

Origin The parish originated in Byzantine times from the time of Emperor Theodosius I in the 4th century. The original church was the main Roman pagan temple of Gozo which had been converted by a Greek missionary into a Christian church dedicated to Saint George. The Roman temple stood at the site of the present church. The church is also documented in manuscript sources in c. 1250, when it is recorded functioning as a parish church. St George's was also listed as one of the parishes in Gozo where indulgences could be obtained on a papal bull by Pope Nicholas V for the Holy Year of 1450. Considering the fact that the parish church originated during the Byzantine period, until 1575, the liturgy in St George's parish church was celebrated in the Byzantine Rite rather than the Latin Rite. It was the last church to celebrate the Byzantine liturgy on the island until the transition to the Roman rite. The church had been rebuilt numerous times during the Middle Ages because of the increasing population of the island. In 1511 a scriptura apostolica declared that the church of St George was the parish church of Gozo, thus covering all the population of Gozo. It is also recorded that the parish priest of St George's church during the half of the 16th century, Reverend Lorenzo de Apapis (1501–1586), was taken prisoner together with most of the inhabitants of the island by the invading Ottomans in 1551 to Constantinople. Reverend De Apapis managed to buy his freedom some years later and returned to Gozo and rebuilt the church of St George which had been badly damaged. Likewise the church was reconstructed again in 1583 and 1598.Mizzi, Pawlu (2014). St George's Basilica and its Il-Ħaġar Museum Victoria Gozo. Heritage Books, Malta. .

Present church The present church was planned by Vittorio Cassar when he also demolished the buildings that could serve to cover an enemy attack on the town of Gozo today called the Cittadella. The foundation stone of the present church was laid on 7 August 1672. The church's construction was completed by in 1678 and it was consecrated on 21 September 1755 by Bishop Paul Alphéran de Bussan.

The union of the two parishes In 1630 the vicar general of the Diocese of Malta, Pier Francesco Pontremoli, proposed the union of the two parishes of Gozo – that of the Assumption in the Citadella and that of St George – because of conflicts and competitions that the two parish priests of the respective parishes where initiating. In the meantime the parish church of St George was rebuilt and finished in 1678. It was on 28 April 1688, that Bishop Davide Cocco Palmieri created from the Matrix church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary in the old town of Gozo four new parishes in Gozo and joined the parish of St George with its Matrix church. This union went on for the next 266 years until 1 August 1955, when the Bishop of Gozo, Giuseppe Pace, dissolved this union between the two parishes by signing the decree Cum hodiernis temporibus in which he established St George as a new parish independent from its mother church, the Gozo Cathedral. Thus St George started carrying once again its pastoral activities."Today... Honour to the honourable!", Website of St George's Basilica, Malta, 1 August 2006. Retrieved 19 April 2014.

New façade The first major architectural modification to the church, after it was rebuilt, took place in 1818 when the church façade was rebuilt due to damage suffered by an earthquake that hit Gozo on 1 February 1697, 20 years after the church was completed. The designed for the façade were made by Salvatore Bondi.

Religious Order In 1880 the associate priest here was Joseph Diacono and under his leadership the Franciscan Sisters of the Heart of Jesus was formed here. In time, Diacono wanted to end the organisation but local Religious Virginia De Brincat disagreed and she became the Superior General. She is now the Venerable Madre Margerita De Brincat.

Enlargement In the 1930s the church was enlarged with the addition of the naves and the side chapels. Between 1939 and 1940 the dome of the church was reconstructed due to damage done in the earthquakes of 1693 and 1789. The roof was also rebuilt and reconstructed in the Roman style arch between 1938 and 1939. The inauguration of the enlarged church took place on 28 July 1940, by Bishop Mikiel Gonzi.

Minor basilica On 6 September 1958 Archpriest Cefai announced to the gathered congregation that the church was honoured with the title of Basilica. The decree, Merito dilaudatur templum, dated 6 September 1958, confirmed Pope Pius XII's decision that the parish church was now a Basilica."St George's Basilica: fifty years old", Website of St George's Basilica, Malta, 6 September 2008. Retrieved 19 April 2014. With this title the church received certain privileges such as precedence before other churches, the right of the Umbraculum and the Tintinnabulum. These objects are carried in every procession that the collegiate chapter takes part in. Also the church acquired the right to include the papal symbol of the crossed keys on a basilica's banners, furnishings and seal.

Collegiate church On 8 December 1975, Bishop Nikol Joseph Cauchi established the first collegiate chapter of the new Pontifical Collegiate church. He decreed that the Collegiate church would be aggregated to the Cathedral Archbasilica of St. John Lateran of Rome. In total Gozo has five collegiate chapters all with their peculiar privileges and insignia. The peculiarity of this Collegiate church consists in that it is the only Collegiate Chapter that has not yet been confirmed by the Holy See.

The church building is listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.

Works of art

The first view of the basilica's interior is one exquisite architectural proportion and harmony. This parish church is referred to as "the golden church" of Gozo. It is entirely covered with marble and gold stucco. The church houses two works of art by the famous painter Mattia Preti. These are the main altar piece representing St George with the dragon and the other in a side chapel representing the Holy Souls.

Titular altarpiece In 1678 the governor of Gozo Don Francesco de Corduba commissioned a new altarpiece for the parish church of St George from Preti. This painting is considered to be one of Gozo's most important painting. The painting depicts St George triumphant over the dragon. The coat of arms of the donor is depicted in the bottom left corner of the painting.

Side chapels The basilica has a total of 11 side chapels. Starting from the left side of the basilica when entering the main door one finds the chapel of St Paul with a baroque altar and a painting depicting St Paul and the Immaculate Conception by Stefano Erardi (1699). Next, is the side entrance chapel of St Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori which does not contain an altar though has an oval oil canvas depicting the saint by Maltese painter Ramiro Cali commissioned in 1925. Next, is the chapel of St Michael the Archangel who is depicted in a mosaic made in Rome in 1963 based on an older painting now located in the basilica museum. The next chapel contains a baroque altar designed by Francesco Zahra and produced between 1759 and 1761 by Giovanni Antonio Durante. The chapel is dedicated to the Holy Souls in purgatory and has a painting done by Preti. The last chapel on the left is dedicated to Jesus and Mary. It contains a painting by Alession Erardi depicting Christ the Saviour and the Virgin with St Ignatius of Loyola and St Francis Xavier (1723). This chapel also contains a wooden statue of Jesus and Mary done by Sigismondo Dimech between 1802 and 1807.

On the other side starting from the right hand side of the choir is the Neo-Byzantine chapel of the Holy Cross and the Blessed Sacrament. Next is the chapel of Saint Cajetan which, up to some years ago, prior to the building of the Neo-Byzantine chapel, contained the altar of the Holy Cross. This chapel also houses the titular statue of St George (1839) and the statue of the Resurrected Christ (1996). The painting depicting St Cajetan was removed and is now housed in the basilica museum. Next is the chapel of St Lazarus which contains a painting of the resurrection of Lazarus by Giuseppe D'Arena and a baroque altar containing the corpse of St Clement. The following chapel is dedicated to St Joseph and contains a baroque altar and a painting by Giuseppe Cali depicting the Holy Family (1899). The next chapel is an entrance chapel with no altar and is dedicated to St Thérèse of Lisieux and contains a small oval oil canvas depicting the saint by Ramiro Cali. The last chapel is dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria and contains a baroque altar with a painting depicting the Mystic Marriage of St Catherine by Giuseppe D'Arena.

Interior renovation Between 1945 and 1954 the church underwent major changes that changed its internal appearance. In 1945 work started on the decoration of the cupola of the church. The paintings in the cupola represent the theme of victory from the Book of Revelation. They were painted by Giovanni Battista Conti while the stucco decoration was done by Giuseppe Galea. Conti also designed 8 stained glass windows which decorate the dome. The dome was inaugurated in 1949. That same year a new set of Stations of the Cross, carved from marble and brought from Rome, were inaugurated. They were designed by Carlo Pisi and sculpted by Henreaux of Lucca. In 1952 work started on the decoration of the naves while the newly redecorated organ gallery was finished. Mattia Preti, Giuseppe Calì, Michele Busuttil, Giuseppe Fenech, Francesco V. Zahra, Fortunato Venuti, Injazju Cortis, Ramiro Calì, Filippo Cosimo, Giuseppe D'Arena, Salvatore Bondì, Robert Dingli, Stefano Erardi, Alessio Erardi and Alfred Camilleri Cauchi are other famous artists whose works can be admired in the basilica and its annexes. The church also possesses the whole corpse of St Clement lying inside one of the side altars.

Baroque high altar The baroque high altar that had graced St George's since 1755 was dismantled and replaced in 1960. Following the elevation of the church to a minor basilica which gave rise to the decision to replace the baroque altar with a new papal altar. The baroque altar had been sculpted by Claudio Durante of Valletta on designs by Francesco Zahra (1710–1773). The altar contained six types of marble all quarried from Sicily. When the altar was dismantled, its parts disappeared until rediscovered again in 1999. The altar was fully restored in 2011 and was formally inaugurated and exhibited in Valletta at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura."Our marble Baroque altar on exhibition in Valletta", St George's Basilica, Malta, 14 December 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2015.

New high altar and canopy In 1960 a new main altar was dedicated. It was made from white Carrara marble on the design of Carlo Pisi. The altar depicts four angels wearing clerical vestments on their knees while lifting the horizontal piece of the altar on their shoulders. This was the first altar table in Gozo to be dedicated in any church. The bronze and gold gilded canopy over the high altar is indeed impressive. It was made in 1967 following the liturgical reform promulgated by the Second Vatican Council. The canopy was based on the design of Bernini's in St Peter's Rome.

Titular statue