The parish of Naxxar was the first parish established in the countryside of our island thus ranking third in the parish hierarchy after the cathedral church in Mdina and the Vittoriosa church in the Castrum Maris. The year of its establishment is not known but it was definitely established by the beginning of the 15th century. When in 1436 Bishop Senatore de Mello drew up the list of Maltese parishes, he again listed the church dedicated to the Nativity of Our Lady, after the two mentioned churches. This clearly shows that a church already existed in Naxxar at the beginning of that century and we know from later buildings that it was in the same position of the present church.
A complete list of the parish priests who led the parish from 1436 is documented. Don Jacobo Raficano who led the parish from the end of the 15th century up to 1533, was instrumental in building a new church instead of the old one in the year 1525. This church was built in the then common rectangular form. Throughout the 16th century a number of smaller churches were built around, even abutting the mother church, the Chiesa matrix.
The Archdeacon of the Mdina cathedral, Don Domenico Dimech, followed Don Jacobo as parish priest. It was he who appealed to Rome to re-establish the rights of the parish in the traditional feast of St Gregory, which rights had been usurped by the parish of Birkirkara. These rights were confirmed by Rome in 1548 by which time Don Domenico himself had died.
At the beginning of the 17th century the parish went through two big changes. The boundaries of the Naxxar parish extended then up to the north of the island with Mellieha having been incorporated with Naxxar by Mons Dusina in 1575. Its boundaries therefore, covered the whole northern part of the island including the villages of Għargħur and Mosta. These two villages were established as separate parishes in 1610 after the death of the long-serving parish priest Don Juliano Borg. The second big change came soon after this separation with the building of a new parish church to replace the old one.
It was Don Jacobo Pace who undertook this project. Begun in 1614 and now built in the form of a cross, it was practically completed by 1630 by which time a number of its altars/chapels had already been or were being decorated with baroque sculptures. A few years later, in 1647, the first Maltese historian Gian Francesco Abela described this church as one of the nicest on the island. A number of bishops, in their pastoral reports went so far as to describe the church as the nicest among the churches in Malta, 'primatur obtinuit'.
In the next 150 years, till the end of the 18th century, the church was continually embellished by further baroque sculptures and many other decorations. This was the case particularly in the period of Don Giorgio Fiteni (1769-1799). During his leadership a new church organ was built (1773); a complete set of pictures showing the fourteen stations of the Way of the Cross were painted by several artists (1779-1783); a new set of bells were added (1784); and finally a new red damask to decorate the church at the feast time was ready by 1794.
The next big change came over a hundred years later. Towards the end of the 19th century some parishioners taught there was the need of enlarging the church or even build a new, much larger one. Plans were completed and the necessary permits were obtained for both projects. However, the building of a new church having been too big a project financially, it was finally decided to enlarge the old church with the building of side naves. This project, including the building of a new facade, was completed by 1913. Ironically, just as it had happened three centuries before, the enlargement of the church came after the parish boundaries had been once more reduced with the establishment of the Mellieħa parish in 1844 and that of St. Paul's Bay in 1905.
The 20th century saw further embellishments in the church. A newly sculptured ceiling was finished by 1928; a fine marble/bronze chancel surrounding the main altar (the presbetry) by 1930; a new marble floor which then necessitated the building of a cemetry; a new organ balcony; a new tabernacle on the main altar; a new valance for the Bambina for the feast days. The list is completed by the decoration of the side cupulas within the side chapels with new paintings and stone sculptures.
In the meantime the parish church had become not only a mother church to the various parish churches that had been established over the years, but some of these had become mother churches themselves with the establishment of new parishes like Mgarr, Burmarrad and Qawra. Hence the Naxxar church became a grandmother, Arcimatrici. In 1949 Archbishop Michael Gonzi had elevated the church to archparish, Arcipretali.
The request to elevate the church to a collegiate one was made on the 21st September, 2018 by the archpriest Father David Gauci in the name of the other priests of the parish. The reasoning behind this request was based on the fact that the parish is one of the oldest in the diocese; that the Pauline traditions relating to the shipwreck and subsequent christianisation of the Maltese is here very strong, considering that the then village was the nearest to the shipwreck area; that all Pauline sites relating to the shipwreck were for many years within the parish boundaries; the very etimological explanation of the name Naxxar is derived from the word nassar, one who christianizes. Moreover at San Pawl tat-Targa, an area within the parish, there has always existed the tradition that St Paul preached to the islanders, to the people of the area. From here the motto of the parish, Prior Credidi, among the first to believe.
The parish of Naxxar is today the third largest in terms of population with over 15,500 souls. Just recently at the request of the Maltese diocese the Vatican authorities have accepted the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady as a major feast. This means that it will be celebrated solemnly in all churches in Malta.
Having considered these points and with a sense of gratitude to the course of faith followed by the people of Naxxar, His Excellency the Archbishop Mons Charles J. Scicluna issued a decree on the 28th of August, 2019, whereby he elevated the parish church to a Collegiate church.
Paul Catania