MALTA: Zejtun-St Gregory Church & Its Secret Passage

This church is dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria and was Zejtun's parish from 1436 to 1720. Today it is known as St. Gregory's Church and relates to the statue of Pope Saint Gregory the Great that is situated in the middle of the church's square. The statue faces the Cathedral of Mdina, the old medieval capital in the centre of the island.

The church was used as part of the defences of the Hospitaller Knights of St John against the Turks.

In 1969, a secret passage was discovered in the church walls. Intended perhaps as a safe place for villagers when Żejtun was under attack by the enemy. These passages revealed the skeletal remains of some 80 people.

As from the 16th.Century a votive procession used to depart from all the parishes of Malta early in the day on foot and ended at this very church later in the morning. The procession still takes place nowadays albeit on a smaller scale, on the first Wednesday after Easter.

Photos by Choy Hong (Jasmine) Grech unless otherwise noted.

Video by Alfred & Jasmine Grech, Mosta, Malta

© jasalf5959

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Malta
• gozo
• Zejtun
• St Gregory
• San Girgor
• jasmine
• Alfred
• Grech
• jasalf
• jasalf5959
• skeletal
• remains
• choy
• hong
• village
• chapel
• church
• procession
• heritage
• archeology
• museum

[xXToTaLHiTmAnXx]

i want to go to zejtun, looks like a nice place, i tracked down my family history and my great great grand dad came from here

[JasAlf5959]

@xXToTaLHiTmAnXx Thanks so much for your comment. Yes, it is a very beautiful village enriched with deep history. There are many beautiful old buildings constructed in intricate designs and engineering of the bygone era. You would love it when you visit the village in near future. The people are very hospitable, friendly and helpful and they know their village history very well.

Warm regards,

Jasmine

[phluirin1]

Out of curiosity, how and why were those bones there? Who were they hiding from, if that was the case? And why did they never come out? Do you know? Thanks :)

[JasAlf5959]

@phluirin1 Thank you for your questions. No one thus far knew the identity of the bones. Some speculations said that they were held captives by the enemies and some said that they were locals who hid there from the enemies. Some researches are still on-going.

Warm regards from Malta,

Jasmine

[phluirin1]

@JasAlf5959 Ah thank you :) I enjoy history and wish I could visit all these different historical places. Maybe one day. And historical mysteries are always intriguing. Places like this church are impressive alone, but when combined with the stories of those that lived in them, they are far more interesting.

Hi from New Zealand :D

[JasAlf5959]

@phluirin1 You are most welcome and I am so pleased to know that you are interested in history and historical places. So glad that we share the same interest. Malta is very rich in history which dates back to 5000 BC. Hopefully, one day you would be able to visit Malta. People here are warm, friendly and welcoming.

All the best,

Jasmine

[mychoicealfred5]

@xXToTaLHiTmAnXx Zejtun is a quaint village with very interesting buildings. First time I took my wife there she fell in love with it and asked me to take her again and again and again. There are other videos about Zejtun on this channel - pls search for jasafl5959 zejtun and you'll find them including one which takes you for a tour around the village.

My wife will reply to you tomorrow - she's the boss of this channel :))

Take care

Alfred

[JasAlf5959]

@sliemalouis Thanks so much Louis.

As always, we too enjoy watching your fabulous videos. Keep up the good work.

Jasmine & Alfred

[sliemalouis]

Proset Alfred and Jasmine; another nice video to watch..........

[JasAlf5959]

Thanks for your comments. Hopefully, one day, we would be able to attend your beautiful feast.