On Thursday, December 26, the Balzan community will be celebrating the 350th anniversary from the laying of the foundation stone of its parish church, dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary.

It was on December 26, 1669 – which also happened to be a Thursday – that the forefathers of this village community saw their dreams come true when the then parish priest, Fr Domenico Ellul, solemnly blessed and laid the foundation stone of the new church.

The idea of having a larger church had been in the minds of the people of Balzan prior to the erection of the village as a separate parish, independent of the matrice of Birkirkara. To this effect, the villagers chose two representatives to put forward this idea and discuss the proposal with the Church authorities on their behalf. These two procurators were the cleric Marco Antonio Chetcuti and Pietro Micallef.

On March 19, 1655, they presented a petition to Bishop Michael Joannes Balaguer de Camarasa requesting the erection of Balzan as a separate parish. In their petition they further mentioned the building of a new parish church. Mgr Balaguer acceded to their request and on August 14 of that same year he declared Balzan a separate parish. Moreover, in his decree, Bishop Balaguer explicitly stated that he was fully in favour of a new parish church.

Three years later, in the report of the pastoral visit to the new parish of Balzan on December 12, 1658, Vicar General Mgr Alessandro Bologna underlined the fact that the parish church of the village – the old parish church of the Annunciation (in Three Churches Street) – was too small to accommodate the parishioners. In the meantime, the first parish priest of Balzan, Fr Adriano Zarb, passed away in January 1662.

“Balzan church, dedicated to the Annunciation, has a rich and unusual façade with elongated pilasters and was built during the years 1669 and 1695. Here is a façade with a strongly Spanish flavour.” (J. Quentin Hughes, The Building of Malta 1530–1795, London: Alec Tiranti, 1967)

Five months later, on June 26, when the parish was being administered by the vice parish priest, Fr Marius Calleja, the Vicar General visited Balzan again. The issue of the building of a new parish church was again brought up by the parishioners. The Vicar General again confirmed that the existent parish church was too small for the growing population of the village.

The existent parish church was too small for the growing population of the village

A year later, on May 11, 1663, Bishop Balaguer, accompanied by his vicar, Mgr Bologna, visited again the parish church which was full to capacity with parishioners.

Matters seemed to have taken a positive turn when, in December 1662, Bishop Balaguer nominated Fr Domenico Ellul, from the parish of Kirkop, as the second parish priest of Balzan. The new parish priest, seeing the ardent enthusiasm of the Balzan community for the building of a new church, eagerly undertook this project as his priority. He insisted with Mgr Balaguer to grant permission for works to start.

Unfortunately, however, Bishop Balaguer passed away a year later, on December 5, 1663, after having suffered an apoplectic stroke. To make matters worse, the diocese of Malta was to remain sede vacante for three whole years. The next bishop, Lucas Buenos, was nominated on December 15, 1666. His was a short episcopate, because he died on September 7, 1668. In the interim period, till the nomination of Lorenzo D’Astiria as bishop of Malta on April 18, 1670, the diocese was administered by Vicar General Mgr Giovanni Battista Cauchi.

Since the elevation of Balzan to parish status in 1655, the parish scenario was slightly different. The two procurators of the parish now were Gio Maria Frendo and Benedetto Borg. The fact that the diocese was being administered by the Vicar General did not hamper their determination from pushing their case further and obtain the go ahead to begin the building of the new church.

Balzan parish church in the early years of the 20th century.

Backed by parish priest Fr Domenico Ellul, Frendo and Borg presented a detailed petition, written in Italian, to Vicar General Mgr Cauchi. In their petition they reminded him of the previous petition presented to Bishop Balaguer on May 11, 1663, during his visit to the parish accompanied by his Vicar General. On that occasion Mgr Balaguer, having seen for himself the difficulties faced by the parishioners due to the small size of their parish church, had ordered the erection of a new and larger parish church at the centre of the village. Bishop Balaguer had acceded to their request and ratified his acceptance on  July 11, 1663.

The day set for the laying of the foundation stone of the new church was December 26, 1669. Parish Priest Fr Domenico Ellul was to preside over the solemn ceremony.

Interior of the church en fête.

The parishioners of Balzan could not be more elated. The time had come for the project to start. It was a big venture for the parishioners, but their determination and their faith in the Almighty made them undertake courageously this challenge. On that eventful day, Parish Priest Ellul, accompanied by the village clergy: Frs Giuseppe Agius, Michele Agius, Marcus Bellia, Paolo Borg, Marius Calleja, Clement Chetcuti, Giovanni Battista Frendo, Grazio Micallef and Andrea Vella, accompanied by members of the confraternities of the Holy Sacrament and Our Lady of the Rosary, and altar boys, assembled at the old parish church of the Annunciation. From there the procession made its way to the site where the new parish church was to be erected. One can only imagine the delight and enthusiasm of the village community on that historic day.

The new church, like other churches of the same epoch, was to follow the rubrics of the Tridentine Council, namely having the plan of a Latin Cross, with the nave leading to the main altar facing east, the choir, and the north transept and south transept.

Unfortunately the architect who designed the church is not known. However, according to information from Bishop Davide Cocco Palmieri’s pastoral visit to Balzan in 1693, we know that architect Lorenzo Gafà and master mason Giovanni Barbara had a say in the final phase of construction, especially the roofing of the transepts and the building of the dome and belfry.

The end result is an integrated structure which gives credit to the village forefathers who, notwithstanding their limited numbers and financial resources, managed to see their ambitious dream come true.

It is our hope that the commemoration of this anniversary will enhance in the Balzan community a renewed sense of appreciation and commitment towards their parish church for the years to come, under the maternal care of the Virgin Mary under the title of the Annunciation.

Programme of activities

Thursday, December 26

6pm The Balzan community welcomes Archbishop Charles Scicluna at the parish church;

6.30pm Solemn thanksgiving High Mass by the archbishop accompanied by the parish priest Mgr Karm Farrugia and clergy;

Te Deum of thanksgiving;

Unveiling and blessing of a commemorative marble slab by the archbishop marking the event and the 150th anniversary from the arrival of the titular statue of the Annunciation, celebrated last March;

Refreshments at Aurora Hall.

Friday, December 27

7.15pm Commemorative even­ing at the parish church, under the patronage of Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Galea-Curmi;

‘Historical and Architectural Appraisal of Ħal Balzan Parish Church’, a visual presentation by Prof. Conrad Thake from the Department of Art and Art History, University of Malta;

Throughout the evening, Dr Lydia Buttigieg, harpist and pianist, will be playing musical interludes accompanied by soprano Michaela Agius.

Vincenzo Bonello commented on the fine dome of Balzan parish church in his article ‘Malta’ in Enciclopedia Italiana xxxiv, p. 45.