Congratulations are in order for this prominent local church! The San Gorg Church in Qormi was declared a Collegiate yesterday during a mass celebrated by Malta’s Archbishop Charles Scicuna.

What is a collegiate church?

When a church becomes collegiate, this means that the daily worship is maintained by a ‘college of canons’ which is a secular community of the clergy and is recognised as a self-governing corporate body, and is sometimes presided over by a dean or provost. Members of the clergy perform certain spiritual exercises such as prayer and penitence, and each member has his own responsibility within the collegiate clergy.

The San Gorg church

The San Gorg church in Qormi is a 16^th-century baroque Roman Catholic parish church. The structure was built three times, the last one using the famous architect’s Lorenzo Gafa’s designs in 1684. The church was consecrated in May 1731.

The now-collegiate church houses the last work by renowned artist Mattia Preti, depicting the martyrdom of St George. The church is also home to another of Preti’s famous works, the Eternal Father.

The church also celebrated its local feast yesterday, so this was extra cause for celebration!