Important paintings in the former parish church of Ghajnsielem are being restored with the financial support of Bank of Valletta.

These include the titular painting dedicated to Our Lady of Loreto by Michael Busuttil and six masterpieces by the 19th century Valletta-born artist Giuseppe Cali.

The conservation and restoration work is being carried out by Maltese restorer Manwel Zammit of Zejtun along with Fr Charles Vella and his team.

The church had been built to house a statue to the Blessed Virgin of Loreto, sculpted by a local farmer called Anglu Grech after he saw a vision.

The statue soon became a focal point for people in the village and a chapel was eventually erected to host it in 1810.

This was subsequently enlarged over the years, getting to its present size in 1877. It was, however, still too small for the growing population and a new parish church started to be built in 1922.

 

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