The Church yesterday celebrated the liturgical feast of St Anthony the Abbot, patron saint of animals. Xagħra celebrates the feast of St Anthony, tomorrow. Today, the eve of the feast, the translation of the relic, led by Xagħra archpriest Can. Richard Nazzareno Farrugia, will be held at 5.15pm, followed by solemn concelebrated Mass at 6pm.

Tomorrow, the feast day, concelebrated mass, led by church rector Michael Galea, will be said at 9am. Diana Zammit and Marita Vella, accompanied by organist Ivan Attard, will animate the liturgy.

The statue of St Anthony the Abbot will leave the church at 2.30pm. The blessing of horses will take place at St Anthony square by Can. Galea. The statue of St Anthony, accompanied by the Victory Band, will leave the square at 3.30pm.

As the statue arrives at Victory square at around 4.15pm, the chapter and clergy of Xagħra basilica will accompany the statue up to St Anthony Square where the blessing of animals and pets will take place at 5pm. Afterwards, the procession will head to St Anthony church where festivities will be concluded with Eucharistic benediction.

The church of St Anthony the Abbot in Xagħra is one of the oldest churches in Gozo.

Devotion to St Anthony the Abbot is deeply rooted in Gozo. A chapel in his honour, perched upon il-Qaċċa, the highest point of Xagħra, is recorded in the early 1400s. In 1575, the chapel had a small cemetery in front, and on April 28, 1688, it became the seat of the newly-founded parish of Xagħra. The first parish priest was Fr Bernard Formosa.

The plague of 1814, which took the lives of 104 people, was fiercest in the area around the chapel. When the plague was over, some items in the church, including the altar painting were burnt to disinfect the place.

The present painting, depicting St Anthony with the population of Xagħra under tents during the plague, was painted by Dun Salv Bondi in 1816.