The church of the Virgin of Mercy (Tal-Hniena), Qrendi : its history, architecture and works of art

Abstract

The aim of this long essay is to compile all the existing and newly found information regarding the History, Architecture and Works of Art of the Church of the Virgin of Mercy, Qrendi, better known as Tal-Hniena. Research has been very challenging since it had to be quite widespread due to the nature of the subject, tackling not only works of art but also architecture and history. The works of art alone vary in nature and so one could not work on a specific artist or period but had to take a wider viewpoint. Also the architectural part has been very difficult to compile since information in this respect is very limited. Already existing material about the church has proved to be very limited, with the best references being, Vincent Borg (ed.), Marian Devotions in the Islands of St. Paul 1600-1800, Malta, 1983; Isabel Borg, The Miraculous Image and the Ex-Voto tabella in Malta, M.A. Thesis, University of Malta, 1994; Achille Ferres, Descrizione Storica Delle Chiese di Malta e Gozo, Facsimile Edition, Malta, 1985; Kilin, A Hundred Wayside Chapels of Malta and Gozo, Malta, 2000; Michael Galea, Is-Santwarju tal-Madonna tal-Hniena, in Lehen is-Sewwa, 5.3.83,8 and German Knights of Malta-a gallery of portraits, Malta, 1986. These secondary sources provide more or less the same information, more often than not, only providing a page of information. Due to this the only way to gather more information, besides looking at other secondary sources which are indirectly linked with the subject, was by delving into the archives. The Pastoral Visitation Reports have proved to be quite a good source when it comes to knowing what was found in the church when and the state of the church at different times. However information is still very limited and here I also suffered a huge handicap which is not knowing Latin. It therefore has been a great struggle to translate the reports so as to understand what was being said. The only still existing original manuscript which belongs to the Church of the Virgin of Mercy is a little diary which was compiled in the 18th century and which provides information on donations, income and expenditure of the church. However, unfortunately I haven't found any reference to works of art. A special mention is given to Bailiff Wolffgang Philipp Guttenberg who had a country lodge not even a hundred metres away from the church and donated several items to the church. His great devotion to the Virgin is witnessed by the numerous donations he made to different shrines on the Maltese Islands. This is tackled in Chapter 4.ii. Since the church was very important due to the devotion towards the Virgin of Mercy special mention is given to it as a Marian Shrine and an inventory of the Ex-Voto paintings is included. In this respect Joseph Muscat has proved to be a great help particularly in regards to the Maritime Ex voto paintings present in the church. Various visits to the church have helped so as to formulate a personal relationship with the architectural style of the church, besides with the works of art. This has been perhaps the most difficult part to compile since as already mentioned literature in this respect is limited. Joseph Magro was of great help since he designed the church's plan together with its front and side elevations, transverse and longitudinal sections, and roof plan. These are included in Chapter 3. An Inventory of the Paintings is adjoined to Chapter 4. These thus give an overview of what is still present in the church and are accompanied by illustrations. An idea of the works which have gone missing is also given.