Another pic from our Gozo week-end.
This church, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist dominates the village of Xewkija – the name is Maltese and Arabic for a place where thistles abound. The parish was the first established outside of Rabat (Gozo) in Gozo in 1678. The foundation stone of this Rotunda was laid on 4 May 1952. It was built around the former church, itself raised on the site of a still older church. The community was, until the middle of the twentieth century, made primarily of farmers and fishermen. They had made all sort of sacrifices to build the earlier churches. Undaunted by sacrifices, in 1952, these farmers and fishermen bound themselves to a weekly offering to raise the enormous rotunda. The dome, 75 metres high, with a diameter of 27 metres, and a circumference of 85 metres, is one of the largest in Europe. Its total weight is calculated to be around 45,000 tonnes. It was consecrated on 17 June 1978. The church has enjoyed Archipresbyteral since 10 February 1893.
