Feast of St Margaret in Sannat
Devotion in Gozo goes back to the Middle Ages, with chapel dedicated to the saint on the site of the present parish church documented early in the 16th century
Sannat is celebrating the feast of its patron saint, Margaret of Antioch, during the weekend. Archpriest Michael Curmi will lead a solemn concelebrated mass tomorrow at 10am, during which the Te Deum will be sung. During the celebration, there will be the blessing of unborn babies in the womb in front of St Margaret’s statue, patron saint of pregnant women. Parents will also present their children to the saint for her blessing and protection.
The translation of the relic will take place from the MUSEUM chapel to the parish church at 6.30pm. It will be led by Fr Daniel Grech, accompanied by the Santa Margerita Band.
Band marches by the Santa Margerita Band and St Joseph Band of Għajnsielem will start at 9.30pm. Aerial fireworks will kick off at 9.30pm, while ground fireworks, together with a spectacle of light and synchronised music, will be held at Santa Margerita Square at 11.45pm.
Gozo Bishop Anton Teuma will lead a pontifical mass on Sunday at 9am. He will also deliver the homily. The Missa in Honorem Sanctae Margaritae by Mro Charles Camilleri will be played under the direction of Mro George Apap. Mgr Anton Mizzi will lead vespers at 6.30pm.
The hymn, Innu l-Kbir ad Unur ta’ Santa Margerita, will be performed with the participation of soprano Georgina Gauci and the Ulied Margerita choir.
The procession with the statue of the saint, led by Fr Samuel Aquilina, will leave the parish church at 7.45pm, accompanied by the Santa Margerita Band.
During the procession, the La Stella Band will play a musical programme at St Margaret Square. There will be a fireworks display as the procession arrives. Festivities will end with a band march by the Ite ad Joseph Band at 10.30pm.
Church functions will be transmitted on the parish community radio Radju Margerita, 96.1FM and also streamed live on www.sannat parish.org.
Devotion to St Margaret in Gozo goes back to the Middle Ages and a chapel dedicated to the saint on the site of the present parish church is documented early in the 16th century.
On April 28, 1688, Bishop Davide Cocco-Palmeri separated the districts of Sannat and Munxar from the cathedral and established them as a separate parish. Fr Lażżru Camilleri, the first parish priest, immediately set himself the task of building a new church that could accommodate the growing population.
The foundation stone of the church was laid in 1718 and the church was consecrated on October 16, 1755.
After several structural additions in the 1860s, it was consecrated again on November 22, 1868.