Nadur Basilica

Nadur was established as a parish by the Matrice of Gozo on 28 April 1688. Initially, the church of the Immaculate Conception was used as the parish church, but on the orders of Bishop David Cocco Palmeri, one was built by the first parish priest, Fr Bernard Haber, on the hill of Nadur and was completed in 1705, where we also find that the titular painting attributed to Giovanni Chiesa already existed. However, as the population of Nadur began to grow rapidly, in 1760 the parish priest Fr Salv Galea blessed the first stone of a new parish church that took until 1804 to build, designed by the architect of the Order of St John Joseph Bonnici. It was blessed on 24 June of the same year and consisted of an aisle and a chapel in the shape of a Latin cross, with two bell towers. The new parish church, however, was not consecrated until 12 May 1867 by the Apostolic Administrator, H.E. Paul Micallef, during the time of the parish priest, Fr. Ġwann Battista Grech.

In 1763, the parish priest, Fr. Salv Galea, obtained the remains of a man who had been martyred and a year later, in 1764, he decided to donate them to the parish. They were transferred from the parish priest’s house to the parish church and given the name of San Coronato.

In 1855 and 1872 the Nadur church became the Matrix for Għajnsielem and Qala respectively. The last two decades of the nineteenth century saw great progress. In 1882, the parish priest Dun Ġwann Camilleri brought the titular statue of St. Peter and St. Paul from Marseilles in France, made by the company Galard et Fils. In 1892 the red velvet canopy was also brought from France. On 19 December 1893, after much struggle, the Nadur Matrix church was elevated to the dignity of Archpriest and on 1 January 1894, the parish priest Dun Ġwann Camilleri took possession as the first Archpriest of the parish. On 19 September 1894 Pope Leo XIII signed the bull Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ by which the Nadur church became a Collegiate Church of Insignia with rare and prestigious privileges. By this time, in the last years of the parish of Dun Ġwann Camilleri, thoughts began to be had of enlarging the parish church. Therefore, Prof. Francesco Saverio Sciortino was commissioned to design it and the work continued with the zeal of the Archpriest, Can. Martin Camilleri. The naves, the façade and the dome were built, a work that was completed in 1915 and gave the church a majestic appearance. In 1910, Prof. Lazzaro Pisani was also commissioned to begin work on the ceiling painting, a work that includes 153 pieces and that lasted until 1927. These works of art by Pisani are joined by several other works by different artists dating back to the seventeenth century. The Roman sculptor Pio Cellini was also commissioned to further embellish the church.

In 1932 a new portal was built and in 1939 the church floor was designed by Pisani himself. During the century several stained glass windows were made and brought from Grenoble in France. In 1960 a marble pulpit was designed by Prof. Oscar Testa and during the 1960s the marble on the church walls was brought from Italy. In 1967 the collegiate church was raised to the dignity of a Minor Basilica with the bull Romæ Parentibus of Pope Paul VI. Towards the end of the 1970s, the pews in the church were made as well as a new altar designed by Emvin Cremona, in the 1980s during the time of Archpriest Mons Salvu Muscat the Pisani paintings were restored, in the 1990s a new niche, bench and cradle for the titular statue were made and in 2010 a new silver tabernacle designed by Canon Charles Vella was made.

Writing and research: Daniel Meilak B.A. (Hons)
Photos and Videos: Darren Cassar