page_title: St. Catherine's Old Church, Żejtun
section_title: 1614 Raid
hierarchical_section_title: St. Catherine's Old Church, Żejtun / History / 1614 Raid
caption_attribution_description: English: Commemorative plaque raid on Zejtun 1614Polski: Tablica upamiętniająca najazd na Zejtun w 1614 roku
context_page_description: St. Catherine's Old Church, also known as St. Gregory's Church, is a Roman Catholic church in Żejtun. The church and its complex sit towards the outskirts of the town, commanding views over Marsascala Bay, St. Thomas' Bay and Marsaxlokk harbour. The church is colloquially known as Saint Gregory's due to a traditional procession held on the first Wednesday following Easter Sunday. Its dedication to Catherine of Alexandria dates back to an original chapel on this site, which was one of the eight mother churches on Malta. The church stands next to the three cemeteries of Żejtun, dedicated to St. Rocco, St. Gregory and St. Catherine. The church's functions as the parish church of Żejtun were taken over by a new parish church, also dedicated to St. Catherine, and designed by Lorenzo Gafà.
  The present day church was built on the site of an older 15th century chapel, also dedicated to St. Catherine, along with an adjacent private chapel dedicated to St. Mark and St. Jacob. Late medieval texts prove that the church became a landmark for seafarers. Over the years, the chapel was restructured and enlarged, with the demolition of the adjacent private chapel.
context_section_description: On July 6, 1614, an Ottoman force of sixty ships (including 52 galleys) under the command of Khalil Pasha tried to land at Marsaxlokk Bay, but were repelled by the artillery from the newly constructed St. Lucian Tower. The fleet laid anchor at St Thomas Bay in Marsaskala, and landed 5000 to 6000 men unopposed. Some of the Ottomans attacked St. Lucian Tower, while the rest of the force pillaged the village of Żejtun. The raiders burnt the farms and fields of the area, and damaged St. Catherine's Old Church. The attack is described in a commemorative plaque engraved close to the main altar of the church, which states that:
  "In the early hours of Sunday, July 6, 1614, a Turkish army landed from 60 galleys, disembarking six thousand men in the place called Ghizira in Saint Thomas’ creek.  The Turks raided the nearby casali, arriving right up to the farmlands held under the feud of Bulebel. They sacked these townships, burnt farmland and did much damage to the main church of Saint Catherine’s and all the others. Many were caught and killed, and they were made to retire back to the quays. No Christian was captured, but twenty were injured in the attack.  From that day until September 11, 1614, all those born in this parish had to be baptised elsewhere. Extracted from the second book of baptisms for this parish."
  The finding of human bones in a number of secret passages of this church was, for many years, linked with this attack.
caption: Commemorative plaque of the raid on St. Catherine's Old Church.
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