Feast of St Publius

The feast of St Publius in Floriana must have been one of the first I attended, way back in 1973, during my first visit to Malta. I was invited by the late Tom Hedley, former editor of the Times of Malta, to watch the procession from his balcony and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We discussed many subjects of mutual interest, including Maltese politics and British football.

I must have since attended, and enjoyed, more than 100 feasts in Malta and I really became a festa fan. Some of them I frequented several times and these included the feast of St Publius. Friends like Oliver Friggieri and the late Lolly Tonna shared their enthusiasm for the church and the saint with me. I remember meeting the late Mgr Carmelo Xuereb who told me with great pride how happy he was with his appointment as notary of the Pope. In recent years, I was welcomed by the Archpriest Fr Richard Borg, who once stayed in my Dutch home many years ago.

I remember the beautiful music played and the singing during the ceremony of the solemn translation of the relic and, of course, the hymn O Tu Fidelis Patriae. I am lucky to have a CD O Melitae Digna Proles with this music and I play it very often. It makes me nostalgic.

I remember quite a few pontifical high Masses on the day of the feast, celebrated by the archbishop of the day and attended by the president of the day. Afterwards, there was always a splendid reception in the beautiful premises of the Vilhena Band Club. During my last visit a few years ago, I had to leave Malta on the day of the feast. However, I was around during the rest of the week and witnessed the dedication of the recently-born babies to St Publius and enjoyed the procession with another statue (not the main one). It was great fun. I also enjoyed the company of many parishioners during a festive, presided over by Archbishop Emeritus Paul Cremona.

I hope to be able to again join the good people of Floriana in celebrating their splendid festa of St Publius.