Lorenzo de Apapis

The majority of Gozo's population was enslaved and the captives – including de Apapis – were taken to North Africa and later to the Ottoman capital Constantinople.

Since he was from a wealthy family which formed part of the gentry and which had connections with the Maltese nobility, de Apapis was ransomed from slavery relatively quickly, as were several other Gozitan notables.

He returned to the Maltese Islands by 28 October 1553, and on that day he published the will of Guillelmus de Manuele alias Mollica in Malta's capital Birgu.

[4] De Apapis appears to have traveled back to the Ottoman Empire to offer his services as a notary to other enslaved Gozitans, as evidenced by a will he published in Constantinople for the Magnifica Domina Damma Rapa on 15 May 1555.

By 1575, the St George parish church was in a poor state as it had been damaged in 1551 and in several other corsair raids in subsequent years; de Apapis is known to have contributed from his own pocket for its upkeep.

The Parish Church of St George in Rabat, Gozo , where de Apapis was parish priest. The building which stood during his time no longer exists; the present church was constructed on the same site in the 17th century and was altered in the 19th and 20th centuries. [ 1 ] [ 2 ]