This year various activities in different localities will be held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 24th International Eucharistic Congress held in Malta. For four days the Mosta Rotunda was packed with prominent religious personalities and dignitaries coming from various countries to discuss and deliberate.

On the first day of the Congress, Cardinal Domenico Ferrata, special envoy representing the Pope, on his arrival at the Mosta square was received enthusiastically by the crowd present and the Nicolo Isouard Band, smartly dressed in a white uniform, had the privilege of playing the Pope’s hymn.

On April 20, the Nicolo Isouard Band, under the baton of Mro Emanuel Spagnol will again have the honour of commemorating this anniversary by the rendering of Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, special arrangement by Mro. Victor Zammit. Tenor Charles Vincenti and bass Noel Galea, together with The New Coral Singers, under choir master Herman Farrugia Franz, will complement this arrangement. Some time ago while visiting the St Paul’s Cathedral Museum in Mdina, I had the privilege of having the curator Dun Ġwann Sammut as guide. This musuem harbours one of Europe’s best coin collections and numerous other interesting and valuable exhibits. He also showed me the hymn T’Adoriam (Nadurawk Ja Ħobz tas-Sema) written by Dun Karm Psaila, music by Mro Giuseppe Caruana, kept in a room especially dedicated to Dun Karm. He explained to me that this hymn was specially written for the International Eucharistic Congress of 1913 and apart from it still being very popular in Malta, it is also sung in other countries especially in Poland.

I think it would be appropriate for this hymn to be rendered again on April 20, the 100th anniversary.

As if by coincidence, this year the Central Bank of Malta will be minting a gold and silver numismatic coin commemorating Dun Karm Psaila, to raise awareness about our history through the minting of coins.