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The Statues of the Parish  |
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The Titular
Statue
The statue of Saint Mary which is known as the titular statue was made in 1863 when Dun Gwann Camilleri was the parish priest of Zebbug. This is the first statue of the Assumption on the island of Gozo. 1863 also saw the first procession with the statue around the streets of the parish. Bishop Gwann M. Camilleri OSA granted an indulgence of 40 days to those who recite the Salve Regina before it with a decree of the 29th January 1899. The titular statue is very much to the heart of the parishioners and has now become synonymous with the parish and the village of Zebbug; it has its own particular characteristics which make it different from all the Santa Mariji that are to be found in the Maltese islands. The titular feast of St Mary in Zebbug is celebrated on the Sunday after the 15th of August. Statue of St Anthony The statue of Saint Anthony of Padua was made in 1904. It replaced an earlier one which was smaller in size and which was taken by Lwigi Saliba of Cicri Street, today the home of Family Mallia. This statue can still be seen in a niche in the façade of the Mallia house. The new statue of St Anthony was blessed by the diocesan bishop Fra Gwann M. Camilleri OSA. It was brought processionally from the Conventual Church of the Capuchin Friars in the Belliegha area of Victoria to the parish church of Zebbug. A procession with the statue used to be organized every year on his feast day. Statue of St Joseph The statue of St Joseph was made in 1906. This statue took place of a smaller one which existed earlier. The statue was paid by Salvu Vella as a sign of thanks for a granting of a grace through the intercession of the saint. Mgr. Fra Gwann M. Camilleri blessed this statue. Every year the feast of St Joseph is celebrated on the first of May and a procession used to take place. Statue of St Therese The statue of St Theresa of the Child Jesus known also as St Therese of Lisieux was made in 1922. The benefactor was Martin Dimech. It was brought from the Church of Saint James in the heart of Victoria to the parish church of Zebbug. A solemn procession took place. Since the statue was brought to the parish, devotion to St Therese began to spread. The feast of St Therese is celebrated every year on the first day of October. Statue of St Fortunatus The statue of Saint Fortunatus is not a statue in the proper sense; it is what is known as a korpsant. A korpsant is a statue containing the remains of a saint. It was brought procesionally from St George’s Parish Church in Victoria to the Parish Church in Zebbug on the 16th July 1922. Special celebrations took place to commemorate the occasion. The statue used to be the property of the family of Maltese politician Fortunato Mizzi of Valletta who decided to give the statue to the parish. The feast of St Fortunatus Martyr is celebrated in November and a triduum takes place where a preacher preaches for the three days preceding the third Sunday of November. On Sunday afternoon a concelebration takes place and then the procession with the statue of the saint is brought out processionally. The statue - which has a horizontal position – with the remains of the saint within, was restored by the Camilleri brothers of Gharb (Ta’ Wistinu) in 2008. The details of the restoration project were published in the Programm Festa Santa Marija Zebbug 2008. The Statues of the Passion Procession The parish church of Zebbug is one among the five parishes in Gozo which organize the Passion Procession, the others being the Cathedral, St George’s, Xaghra and Nadur. This procession in Zebbug was organized for the first time in 1918. Dun Anton Grima was the parish priest of the time. The statues were also made by Gozitan statuary Wistin Camilleri. Some of the statues had to be changed along the years. For a number of years, the procession ceased. It was in 1965 that Archpriest Luigi Vella asked Bishop Giuseppe Pace of Gozo to grant his permission for the procession to continue being organized every year. Some of the statues which had been destroyed were made again. The new statues were blessed by Bishop Pace. In 1968 the statue of Jesus and the apostles during the Last Supper known among the locals as l-istatwa tal-Ahhar Cena was blessed. The clothings used to dress the statues were all made by Katarina Cini, benefactress of the parish. The procession still takes place on Good Friday after the liturgical function in the church. A good number of people from the parish take place; since 1995 the Banda Santa Marija of Zebbug participates. Statue of Our Lady of the Rosary The statue of Our Lady of the Rosary was blessed in 1919. It was paid by Margarita Micallef. Bishop Gwann M. Camilleri conceded fifty days of indulgences to those who would recite a Salve Regina before the statue with a decree of the 14th May 1911. The statue of Our Lady goes out procesionally on the first Sunday of October. The statue is also used for the procession of the Ghazziela which is celebrated in September. |
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