A Passion Alive
The bearers sag slightly beneath the weight of the statue, which sways gently as the crowds push around it. Decorated with flowers and accompanied by the band’s music, the statue pushes slowly forward, raised above the heads of the crowds, whose eyes are fixed upon it, the centre of their hearts and minds.
Holy Week brings with it a multitude of Good Friday processions held in various villages around Malta and Gozo. Held on Friday afternoons, in the waning spring light, some of these are sombre and devotional, their roots deep in the past; others are more spectacular, large pageants with a huge cast, recreating Biblical characters. Through all, however, runs a deep solemnity, a hush, a moving spirituality.
Steeped in ritual and tradition, decorated with flowers, the stylized statues – captured in dramatic moments – push their way slowly through the crowds. As they stand transfixed high above, they seem to recall us to a sense of the meaning of our lives, inviting reflection on the themes which affect us all – strength and weakness, faith and doubt, suffering and death.
In Valletta, the procession known as Ta’ Giezu, which issues from the Franciscans Minor Church known as Saint Mary in Jesus, has been held since 1673, and still retains its deep sense of devotion and sombreness. The procession is also accompanied by the La Valette Philharmonic Society band, the Bugles of the Salesians Brigade and a choir. This procession is known for the beauty of its statues, most of which date back to the eighteenth century, and which are being restored by Fr Charles Vella.
In Qormi, over 600 people participate in the pageant-like procession which wends its way from the parish church of St George, a manifestation which traces its origins to the first half of the 18th century as attested by the scholarly diarist Ignazio Saverio Mifsud. The participants include the two local band clubs playing funereal music, over 100 bearers who carry no less than 12 statuary groups, and a large number of men and young folk in Jewish and Roman garb who re-enact the Passion and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ almost 2,000 years ago.
Originally, the procession had been a penitential manifestation which, during the last century or so, developed into the pageant one witnesses today. But its penitential aspect is still present with 19 hooded men carrying large crosses in fulfilment of vows or in thanksgiving for graces received. This procession also has the largest number of papier-mache statuary groups in any procession, some of which date back to the 18th century while others are more recent.
Gozo is also renowned for the moving devotion of its processions. One of its smaller villages, Zebbug, boasts some unique features, including a statue unique on the Maltese islands: Jesus’ last supper with the Apostles, consisting of no fewer than 13 statues. The statue – which always opens the procession, carried by 10 brothers – depicts the moment when Jesus instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist. Another characteristic which makes this procession unique are the statues’ clothes, which were all handwoven locally.
Other processions are also held in other Gozitan villages, including Nadur, Xaghra and Victoria, evoking a strong sense of atmosphere and ritual throughout the island – but also of a burning passion, still alive – for a story which invites reflection on the themes which concern us all – and the spaces they occupy in our lives.
