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Concept
Żabbar Sanctuary Museum
Summary
The Żabbar Sanctuary Museum (Mużew tas-Santwarju Żabbar) is the Parish museum of Żabbar, Malta, consisting of artifacts spanning from prehistory to modern contemporary. The majority of the belongings have a religious theme, while others are secular. It is a purposely built museum which during its planning met controversy over the exterior structure in a historic core, next to the parish church.
Built in the middle of the 20th century, it was renovated in 2003, and now has three floors of exhibits. It is run by a committee and a group of volunteers and headed by the Archpriest of Żabbar. The museum is open for three hours daily, from nine in the morning till noon, with a fee of two euro per person. Entrance fees and donations go for the upkeep of the museum and the preservation of the collection.
The museum was founded by Monsignor Joseph Zarb. After Zarb was appointed as Parish priest of Żabbar, in 1943, he soon realized the opportunity the sanctuary of Our Lady of Graces gave in terms of authentic of historic artifacts. Being a researcher and a scholar, he listed all the belongings of the sanctuary – among which are weapons, slave chains, model ships, church vestments, altar fronts and votive paintings – which the Parish held. He later published the listed belongings in a book.
In the past, some of the heritage of the parish was underestimated, prior to the opening of the museum, and the whereabouts of some former belongings is unknown. At one point, the parish held about 300 ex-voto, now down to about 85 on display at the museum. The artifacts were mostly offerings to the patron of the village, Our Lady of Graces, collected throughout the years from people of various backgrounds. Most ex-voto were donated by members of the Order of St. John and other labourers on the galleys, who were seamen.
With the construction and opening of the museum, Zarb managed to house and preserve a large collection of artifacts, dating from pre-history, the Order of St. John, the French occupation of Malta, the British period, to 20th century Malta.
Official source
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