Churches of Malta - St Gregory the Great - Kercem
 The village of Kercem lies close by to the south-east of Victoria, spread between the picturesque Lunzjata Valley, the green hills of "tal-Mixta, Ghar Ilma" and "ta' Dbiegi", and stretching up to the Pond of San Rafflu and Xlendi cliffs. Kercem evolved into a village community in the late Middle Ages, around an ancient chapel dedicated to Pope St. Gregory the Great built around 1581. The site gained historical importance due to the annual traditional St. Gregory procession from the Matrix church in Rabat (Victoria) to this medieval chapel, upon the saint's feast, namely on the 12th of March. The chapel was however replaced by the present parish church in 1851 which in turn was enlarged later on to its present state between 1906-1910. Kercem became a distinct parish on 10th March 1885 by Bishop Pietru Pace. The Kercem parish church is the only Gozitan church, which is jointly dedicated to two saints. As referred earlier, it was traditionally dedicated to Pope St. Gregory, but since 17th August 1885, the church was additionally co-dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. As a matter of fact, although the village celebrates the two feasts without distinction, the feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help could now be considered in terms of popularity as the main religious celebration of the village. It is celebrated yearly on the second Sunday of July.
Click here to Add the above Search Box to your Site
|
