Parish Church of
Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Fgura

Fgura has long had an association with Our Lady of Mount Carmel. A niche dedicated to Her dates back to the mid eighteenth century.

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In 1790 Clement Busuttil replaced the niche with a small church dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. In 1956, the church was demolished to make way for a road. 

Today the old church is memorialised with a cross-shaped monument marking the spot. The Order of the Brothers of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, better known as the Carmelites, settled in Fgura in December 1945. They rented a house from where they began to serve the spiritual needs of the people of the area.

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As the population of Fgura grew, so did this house outgrow its purpose. 

So, thanks to the generosity of some benefactors, a church and a convent was built on a piece of land.  The church was completed and blessed by Archbishop Mikiel Gonzi in 1950 and fifteen years later, in 1965, Fgura was declared a Parish. However, with the population growing fast, the Carmelites felt the need for an even bigger church.

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In January 1976, work began on a plan by Architect Victor Muscat Inglott assisted by Mr Karm Parascandolo and structural engineer Godfrey Azzopardi. Built in the modern post-Second Vatican Council style the new church we see today now forms part of the country’s National Inventory of Cultural Property. It was blessed in May 1988 and was consecrated by Mons. Archbishop Joseph Mercieca in February 1990.

 

With a ceiling supported at four points to provide a symmetrical cross design, while retaining a square plan at the base across both axes, the church covers an area of 370 square feet. It includes a unique design of decorative ironwork by the ironsmith Vincent Borg. This design, which can be appreciated both from the inside and the outside sits within the apertures of the four facades.

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The stained glass in the windows came from England. Starting from the red glass at the base of the windows, signifying humanity, the colours move from orange to brown to yellow and green until they fade to blue representing the divine.​