Diocese of Gozo

{{Short description|Diocese of the Catholic Church}} {{More citations needed|date=July 2015}} {{Infobox diocese | jurisdiction = Diocese | name = Gozo | latin = Dioecesis Gaudisiensis | local = Djoċesi ta' Għawdex | image = File:CoA Diocese of Gozo.png | image_size = 210px | image_alt = | caption = | coat = | coat_size = | coat_alt = | coat_caption =  | country = {{flag|Malta}}<br /> {{flag|Gozo}} | territory = [[Gozo]] and [[Comino]] | province = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta|Malta]] | metropolitan = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta|Archdiocese of Malta]] | deaneries = | headquarters = | coordinates =  | area_km2 = 67 | area_sqmi =  | area_footnotes = | population = 37,392 | population_as_of = 2023 | catholics = 34,656 | catholics_percent = 92.7 | parishes = 15 | churches = 48 | congregations =  | schools =  | members =   | denomination = [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] | sui_iuris_church = [[Latin Church]] | rite = [[Roman Rite]] | established = 22 September 1864 | dissolved = | cathedral = [[Cathedral of the Assumption, Victoria|Cathedral of the Assumption]] | cocathedral = | patron = [[Saint George]]<br>[[Saint Ursula]] | patron_title =  | priests =   | pope = {{Incumbent pope}}  | bishop = [[Anton Teuma]] | bishop_title = | metro_archbishop = [[Charles Scicluna]] | coadjutor = | suffragans =  | auxiliary_bishops =  | apostolic_admin = | vicar_general = Tarcisio Camilleri | episcopal_vicar = | judicial_vicar = Joe Zammit | archdeacons =  | emeritus_bishops = [[Mario Grech|Mario Cardinal Grech]]  | map = Gozo and Comino-map.svg | map_size = | map_alt = | map_caption = The Diocese of Gozo marked in red.  | website = {{Official website|http://gozodiocese.org/|gozodiocese.org}} | footnotes = }} The '''Diocese of Gozo''' ({{langx|la|Dioecesis Goulos-Gaudisiensis}}; {{langx|mt|Djoċesi ta' Għawdex}})<ref>[http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dgozo.html Diocese of Gozo] - from [[Catholic Hierarchy]]{{Self-published source|date=July 2015}}</ref> is a Latin [[diocese]] of the [[Catholic Church]] in [[Malta]], and the only [[suffragan]] in the [[ecclesiastical province]] of the Metropolitan [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta|Archdiocese of Malta]], together covering the insular state.

The [[diocese]] comprises the island of [[Gozo]] (seventeen miles west of the Maltese capital [[Valletta]]) and the islet of [[Comino]].<ref>{{CathEncy|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06687b.htm|title=Gozo}}</ref>

== History == Information regarding the origins of the first formal Christian communities in Gozo is lost to time. The oldest of the active parish churches in Gozo are those of Victoria: the Cathedral of the Assumption and the Basilica of St George. Which of these two is the oldest is not quite clear and often disputed. However both probably originated during the Byzantine occupation of Gozo.

Up till the year 1864, Gozo formed part of the then [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Malta]], but Pope [[Pius IX]], acceding to requests by the clergy and the people, erected it into a separate, then [[exemption (church)|exempt]] diocese, i.e. immediately subject to the Holy See. On 16 March 1863, [[Michael Franciscus Buttigieg]], a native of Gozo, was appointed [[titular Bishop]] of Lita and deputy auxiliary of the Archbishop-Bishop of Malta, for the Island of Gozo. He was consecrated at Rome on 3 May of the same year, on 22 September 1864, was created first bishop of the new Diocese of Gozo, and on the 23rd day of the following month made his entry into the new cathedral. Through the efforts of Pietro Pace, [[vicar-general]] of the diocese, a diocesan seminary was established on the site formerly occupied by the San Giuliano Hospital, the revenues of which were appropriated to the new institution. This seminary was inaugurated 3 November 1866, and by the express desire of Pius IX placed under the direction of the [[Jesuits]].

On the death of Buttigieg, [[Paolo Micallef]], [[Superior General]] of the Augustinian Order, was made [[Bishop of Città di Castello]] and appointed administrator of the Diocese of Gozo. He left Gozo in May, 1867, and in 1871 became [[Archbishop of Pisa]]. His successor to the administration of the diocese was [[Antonius Grech Delicata Testaferrata]], [[titular Bishop of Chalcedon]], a native of Malta, who in 1868 was appointed Bishop of Gozo, and as such assisted at the [[First Vatican Council]]. Grech Delicata's divested himself of his own patrimony in favour of the poor; he died on the last day of 1876.

On 12 March 1877, Pietro Pace, native of Gozo, was appointed to succeed Grech Delicata, and was consecrated in Rome by Cardinal [[Edward Henry Howard]]. Under his administration the seminary was augmented by the installation of a meteorological [[observatory]], which was inaugurated by Padre Denza, director of the [[Vatican Observatory]]. During this administration an episcopal educational institute for girls was also established, under the care of the [[Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul]], to whom was also entrusted the direction of the annexed orphan asylum. The same bishop provided the diocese with a new episcopal palace and new monasteries, besides laying out large sums of money on the cathedral.

In 1889 Pace was promoted Archbishop of [[Rhodes]] and [[Bishop of Malta]]. His successor in the See of Gozo was G. M. Camilleri, a native of [[Valletta]] (b. 15 March 1842). Under Camilleri's administration the first diocesan synod was celebrated, in October, 1903. This synod was necessary as the diocese was still governed under the outdated rules of the Synod of Malta of 1703. Constitutions and decrees were also promulgated and published.

In May 1990, it was visited by [[Pope John Paul II]].

==Bishops of Gozo== {| class="wikitable" |- ! !! Name !! from !! to !! Notes |- | 1 || [[Michael Franciscus Buttigieg]] (1864-1866) || 1864 || 1866 || |- | || [[Paolo Micallef]], Administrator of Gozo || 1866 || 1867 || Administrator of Gozo |- | 2 || [[Antonius Grech Delicata Testaferrata]] || 1868 || 1876 || |- | 3 || [[Pietro Pace]] || 1877 || 1889 || Became Bishop of Malta |- | 4 || [[Giovanni Maria Camilleri]] || 1889 || 1924 || |- | 5 || [[Mikiel Gonzi]] (1924-1943) || 1924 || 1943 || Became Coadjutor Bishop of Malta, Bishop of Malta, and subsequently [[Archdiocese of Malta|Metropolitan Archbishop of Malta]] |- | 6 || [[Giuseppe Pace]] || 1944 || 1972 || |- | || [[Nikol Joseph Cauchi]], Administrator of Gozo || 1967 || 1972 || Administrator of Gozo |- | 7 || [[Nikol Joseph Cauchi]] || 1972 || 2006 || |- | 8 || [[Mario Grech]] || 2006 || 2019 || Became Pro-secretary of the [[Synod of Bishops in the Catholic Church|Synod of Bishops]] |- | || [[Mario Grech]] || 2019 || 2020 || Administrator of Gozo |- | 9 || [[Anton Teuma]] || 2020 || - || |}

== Special churches == [[File:Cathedral of St.Mary - 01.jpg|thumb|Cathedral of the Assumption]] * Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary in [[Victoria, Gozo|Victoria]] - The cathedral church of Gozo was built in 1697–1703, by Lorenzo Gafa. Its ground plan is in the form of a Latin cross. The cathedral is also the annual pilgrimage site of the Grand Priory of the Mediterranean of the [[Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem]]. Its interior is adorned with fine paintings. The "Messagiere di Maria", an Italian periodical, is recognized in the Diocese of Gozo as the official organ of the sanctuary of the [[Blessed Virgin of Ta' Pinu]]. * [[St George's Basilica, Victoria|Basilica and Collegiate Parish of St George]] in [[Victoria, Gozo|Victoria]] * [[Rotunda of Xewkija]] in [[Xewkija]] * [[Ta' Pinu|Basilica and National Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of Ta' Pinu]] in [[Għarb]] * [[Basilica of the Visitation, Għarb|Basilica and Collegiate Parish of the Visitation in Għarb]] * Basilica and Collegiate Parish of St Peter and St Paul in [[Nadur]] * Basilica and Collegiate Parish of the Nativity of Mary in [[Xagħra]]

== Important dates == * 23 April: Memorial of St George - Patron Saint of the Diocese * 22 June: Feast of the [[Blessed Virgin of Ta' Pinu]] * 15 August: Solemnity of the [[Assumption of Mary]] - Patroness of the Maltese Archipelago and of the Gozo Diocese * 16 September: Anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese * 11 October: Dedication of the Diocesan Cathedral * 21 October: Memorial of [[Saint Ursula]] - Patron Saint of the Diocese

==Parishes== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Parish !! Location !! Date established |- | [[St George's Basilica, Victoria|Saint George's]] || [[Victoria, Gozo|Victoria]] || pre-1250 |- | [[Cathedral of the Assumption, Victoria|Parish of the Cathedral of the Assumption, Gozo]] || [[Victoria, Gozo|Victoria]] || pre-1241 |- | [[Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Fontana|Sacred Heart of Jesus]]|| [[Fontana, Gozo|Fontana]] || 27 March 1911 |- | [[Our Lady of Loreto Parish Church|Our Lady of Loreto]] || [[Għajnsielem]] || 26 January 1855 |- | [[Basilica of the Visitation, Għarb|Parish of the Visitation of Our Lady]] || [[Għarb]] || 29 August 1679 |- | [[Corpus Christi Church, Għasri|Corpus Christi Parish]] || [[Għasri]] || 16 December 1921 |- | [[Kerċem|Our Lady of Perpetual Succour and St Gregory the Great]] || [[Kerċem]] || 10 March 1885 |- | [[St Paul's Church, Munxar|Parish of Saint Paul's Shipwreck]] || [[Munxar]] || 12 December 1957 |- | [[Basilica of St Peter and St Paul, Nadur|Parish of Saint Peter and Saint Paul]] || [[Nadur]] || 28 April 1688 |- | [[Qala, Malta|Parish of the Immaculate Conception and Saint Joseph]] || [[Qala, Malta|Qala]] || 3 February 1872 |- | [[San Lawrenz|Saint Laurence's]] || [[San Lawrenz]] || 15 March 1893 |- | [[Church of St Margaret, Sannat|Saint Margaret's]] || [[Sannat]] || 28 April 1688 |- | [[Basilica of the Nativity of Our Lady, Xagħra|Parish of the Nativity of Our Lady]] || [[Xagħra]] || 28 April 1688 |- | [[Rotunda of Xewkija|Parish of Saint John the Baptist]]|| [[Xewkija]] || 27 November 1678 |- | [[Parish Church of the Assumption of Mary, Żebbuġ|Parish of the Assumption of Mary]] || [[Żebbuġ, Gozo]] || 28 April 1688 |}

== References == {{reflist}}

==Sources and external links== * [http://gozodiocese.org/ Gozo Diocese own site] * [http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/gozo0.htm GigaCatholic with incumbent biography links]

== See also == {{Portal|Catholicism|History|Malta}} *[[Culture of Malta]] *[[History of Malta]] *[[List of Churches in Malta]] *[[List of monasteries and convents in Malta]] *[[Religion in Malta]]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gozo, Diocese}} [[Category:Gozo]] [[Category:Roman Catholic dioceses in Malta]] [[Category:Roman Catholic bishops of Gozo| ]]