It was built in 1801 to commemorate the locality's status as a city, which had been granted by Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim on 14 September 1797.

Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, the Grand Master of the Order of St. John, attended the feast of the village of Żabbar on 10 September 1797.

The inhabitants welcomed the Grand Master's visit, and the parish priest, Don Carlo Caruana, requested that the village be elevated to the status of a city.

[2] In December 1801, while repair works were being made to the Żabbar Sanctuary, Don Caruana decided to build the Hompesch Gate.

The arch does not make any reference to the Grand Master or the Order, due to the sensitive political context in which it was constructed.