Żabbar (pronounced "zabb-bar") is the fifth largest town in Malta, with a population of just over 18,000 souls. Originally a part of Zejtun, Żabbar was granted the title of Citta Hompesch by the last of the Grandmasters of the Knights of St. John to reign in Malta, Ferdinand von Hompesch. The Grandmaster gave his surname to the city, which is still formally known (in honoriam) as Citta Hompesch -- although everyody including the postal service calls it Żabbar. (You will find that most places in Malta have at least two different names: a native Malti name and a Latinate name (for example Birgu and Vittoriosa in the nearby Three Cities). In some cases it gains an honorific name (in this case, Citta Hompesch versus Żabbar). In other cases, an third Arabic name was added for modern political reasons in the 1980s.)
The original name of the city derives (probably) from the Maltese word 'inżabbar', the process of grooming trees, cutting off untidy and diseased branches. Indeed, a number of families who specialised in 'żbir', this process, are known to have lived in the vicinity of this village during the Middle Ages
Żabbar is famous for its village feast on the first Sunday after the 8th September, which features a motorcycle and bicycle pilgrimage each starting from Mosta and Rabat respectively. This is done because Our Lady Of Graces is the patron of cyclists. Strong competition exists between the village's two band clubs, locally known as the Societa' Filarmonica Maria Mater Gratiæ (the Blues) and the Għaqda Madonna Tal-Grazzja Banda San Mikiel (the Greens). You will seen small blue and green coloured globe-lights on tall poles around the town, indicating allegience. Żabbar's main football team is St. Patrick's FC
The biggest architectural feature of the town is the Sanctuary, dedicated to Our Lady of Graces. Many paintings and other artefacts can be found in the village church museum, most of which have 'VFGA' in some way or other imprinted on them. This is the Latin abbreviation for 'Votum Fecit et Gratia Acceptit', meaning that a 'miracle' had been granted to the people after due intercession by the Madonna tal-Grazzja (Our Lady of Graces). These paintings are one of the largest collections of votive paintings about marine subjects, and give much historical detail about ships from the era of the Knights of St John. The Mattia Preti painting, which has since been moved to the town's museum, is a particularly beautiful and invaluable painting.
The devotion to Our Lady of Divine Grace dates many centuries and the Sanctuary has long been a centre of frequent pilgrimages.
Zabbar became a parish in 1615. The present Sanctuary was built on plans by Tommaso Dingli. The building of the Church of Our Lady of Graces was started in 1641 at the instigation of the Parish Priest Don Francesco Piscopo and was completed in 1660 (or in 1696, according to other sources, and legend has it that it is never finished). The photograph on the left shows the Sanctuary illuminated in the Festa.
In the Eighteenth Century, the Sanctuary was expand to its present imposing form. Largely from the private funds of the Parish Priest Andrea Buhagiar, in addition to money collected from the people of Zabbar, work on embellishing the church was started in 1738. At that time, a grand new new facade designed by the Maltese architect Giovanni Bonavia was given to the Sanctuary. The two belltowers were also erected at this time. Also,the church was paved in marble and provided with a crypt. The main painting of the Madonna and Child is a work by the painter Alessio Erardi (1669-1727). The titular painting by the Maltese artist Alessio Erardi was made in 1715. In 1951 it was solemnly crowned by Archbishop Michael Gonzi. During 2001 a twelve-star silver diadem was placed by Archbishop Joseph Mercieca.
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