Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel at Ta’ Ħamet
The church, situated at the junction of the roads from Victoria to Xagħra and Nadur, was built by a prosperous farmer and consecrated in 1837
The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is being celebrated at Ta’ Ħamet church, in the limits of Xagħra, on Thursday, July 16.
Mass will be said by the rector, Can. Michael Xuereb, at 6am, while adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will be held between 5.30pm and 7.30pm. Gozo Bishop Anton Teuma will lead a concelebrated mass at 7.30pm, followed by the procession with the statue of Our Lady. The church will be open between 6am and 11.30am.
On the eve of the feast, Wednesday, July 15, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, including meditated rosary, will be held between 5.30am and 7.15pm. Mass with homily by Mgr Joe Vella Gauci will be celebrated at 7.30pm.
The statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.Ta’ Ħamet church, situated at the junction of the roads from Victoria to Xagħra and Nadur, was built by Liberato Grech, a prosperous farmer living in the vicinity. It was blessed by his son, Canon Saverio Grech, on January 1, 1837, and consecrated on July 26, 1952. The church was restored and a new vestry and a large hall has been attached to its south side in 1991.
The altarpiece, by Tommaso Madiona (1804-1864), depicts the Virgin Mary and the Child surrounded by a profusion of putti. A scapular is suspended from their hands.
In the foreground, the painting features a Gozitan landscape, including the original chapel of Ta’ Ħamet. In the church one also finds a statue of the Virgin Mary of Fatima, blessed and crowned by Pope Pius XII in 1950.