Feast of Our Lady of Pompeii in Victoria
May 8 commemorates the anniversary of the laying of the church’s foundation stone
The feast of Our Lady of Pompeii will be celebrated at the Pompeii sanctuary in Victoria, on Thursday. Masses will be said at 6.45am, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.30pm. Gozo Bishop Anton Teuma will lead the supplica – a solemn petition of prayer to Our Lady of Pompeii at noon.
Archbishop Emeritus of Tirana, Albania, Mgr George Frendo, OP, will lead the evening celebration, including mass at 6pm. The Gaulitanus choir, under the direction of Colin Attard, will take part.
Gozo diocese vicar general Mgr Tarcisio Camilleri will lead the translation of the relic on Wednesday at 5.45pm, followed by concelebrated mass. The Stella Maris choir, directed by Mro Carmel Grech, will take part.
The devotion to Our Lady of Pompeii was initiated by the Italian lawyer Bartolo Longo, who has been declared Blessed by Pope John Paul II.
The devotion began when Longo started preparations for the building of a church in Pompeii, dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary.
May 8 commemorates the anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone of this church.
In Malta, the devotion started at the Jesuits church in Valletta. Longo described the Maltese devotion as a twin to that of Pompeii.
The sanctuary in Victoria was built to serve the Dominican sisters whose monastery is adjacent to the church. The monastery was built in 1889, while the church was opened to the public on July 25, 1900.
It was consecrated by Bishop Angelo Portelli, the Auxiliary Bishop of Malta, on July 1, 1923. The titular painting depicting Our Lady of Pompeii
is the work of Lazzaro Pisani. Gozo Bishop Giuseppe Pace crowned the Virgin Mary of Pompeii on October 16, 1966.