The Collegiate Church of the Immaculate Conception (Cospicua)
The present sanctuary is built on the site of the small original parish church. Bormla (Bur Mula -- the Valley of the Lord) was a small fishing village and it increased in size and population after the Great Siege (1565). In 1684, the church became too small for the expanding city and a new church was built around the old one. The Collegiate Church was completed and consecrated to the Immaculate Conception in 1730, and is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. The titular statue is carved out of an oak tree and covered by thick sheets of silver plate. It is studded with gold trimmings, diamonds and other precious stones. The church, apart from being a shrine of Marian devotion, houses numerous artistic wooden statues. The six statues that adorn the main altar are made of solid silver. All the altars’ centerpieces are carved in silver plate, too, and there is a 5-foot tall exposition tabernacle that was donated to the church by Grandmaster Nicola Cotoner.
+© Alamy