Feast of Santa Marija at Gozo cathedral
The statue of Santa Marija was sculpted in Rome in 1897
Gozo will celebrate the feast of Santa Marija at the cathedral on Friday. On Thursday, there will be a special mass for children at the cathedral at 10am, followed by the traditional children’s march to the Leone Band Club.
Cardinal Mario Grech will lead the procession of the translation of the relic from Savina church to the cathedral at 6pm, followed by pontifical vespers with the participation of the choir and orchestra. Bishop Anton Teuma will lead a concelebrated mass with members of the Cathedral Chapter at 7.30pm.
On Friday, August 15, feast day, the cathedral opens at 4.30am; masses will be said at 5, 6, 7 and 8am. Cardinal Grech will preside over a Pontifical Mass concelebrated with Bishop Teuma, the Cathedral Chapter, priests and members of religious orders at 9am. The Missa Maria in Cœlum Assumpta by Mro Ray Sciberras will be sung.
The Gieħ il-Katidral award will be presented after Mass. Every year the cathedral’s archpriest and council confer the decoration to a benefactor of the cathedral. The Apostolic Blessing with the grant of the plenary indulgence will also be given. President Myriam Spiteri Debono will lead the congregation.
Fr Mario Mercieca Pavia will celebrate mass for children and their families at 11am. Second vespers will start at 5.45pm, followed by the procession with the statue of Santa Marija sculpted in Rome in 1897. The Leone Band, under the baton of Colin Attard, will play the hymn Per la festa di Maria Assunta (1913). An aerial firework display by Vampa Organisation starts at 7pm. During the procession, the St Joseph Band of Għajnsielem, under the direction of Mro Frankie Debono, will play at Cathedral Square, while the Victory Band of Xagħra will play at Independence Square, under the direction of Mro Marvin Grech.
All church functions will be transmitted live on the parish community radio Radju Katidral, 90.9FM stereo and also streamed live on www.radjukatidral.com.
The traditional agricultural and industrial show, Il-Wirja Ta’ Santa Marija, will be open at Villa Rundle Gardens on Thursday between 10.30am and 11pm and again on Friday between 7am and 1pm. There will be an evening of traditional għana with the participation of local folk singers and guitarists, folkloristic dance and traditional Maltese folk music between 8pm and 11pm. Horses, agricultural machinery, sheep and goats will be on show on Friday morning.