Bad weather forces widespread Good Friday procession cancellations

Updated 6.24pm

A yellow warning for strong winds, coupled with unsettled weather and rain showers forced organisers of many Good Friday processions to cancel the events at short notice. 

All the Good Friday processions in Gozo, held in Nadur, Żebbuġ, Rabat and Xagħra have been cancelled due to the severe weather forecast, which could damage the statues or injure participants. 

Prayers will be held in the Gozitan parishes instead of the processions. 

Processions cancelled in Malta

The Good Friday procession in the following towns across Malta have also been cancelled: 

• Rabat
• Żebbuġ 
• Paola
• Naxxar
• Żejtun
• Ta' Ġiezu, Valletta

The  Żebbuġ Parish said the event is being cancelled "with full respect for the bearers and all participants, and to avoid any risk of damage to the statues and the vestments."

The organisers of the Naxxar Good Friday procession said that given the weather conditions, and for the safety of all participants, it would be "irresponsible" to hold the event.

The Żejtun procession organisers said their event, which usually draws large crowds of onlookers, was cancelled after they took into consideration "the health of those who were to going to take part as well as the damage that could be caused by the situation". 

Instead a Via Sagra will be held at 6pm at the Parish Church of  Żejtun .

The Parish Church of San Ġorġ in Qormi waited until 6pm, 30 minutes after the originally planned start, to take a decision on whether the procession would be held or not.

In a Facebook post, the parish said that if there is no chance of rain, the procession would be held otherwise the procession would be cancelled. Eventually the procession started at 6pm, attracting a sizeable crowd, with one resident noting "there are more people than usual".

Luqa Parish Church said the Roman parade will start at 5.45pm while the procession will begin at 6.15pm and follow a "reduced route". 

"If other requirements arise, the programme may be changed," the parish said in a Facebook post.

The procession in Senglea started at 6pm but followed a shortened route.

The Ta' Ġiezu Church in Valletta also took the "difficult decision" to cancel the procession at the last minute, "not only because of the possibility of rain, but also because the rain that has already fallen made the descent and the steps unsafe." 

In a Facebook post the Franciscan friars said the church will remain closed as the statues have started being dismantled. 

"We ask for prudence and common sense at this delicate and difficult time for so many people who worked wholeheartedly,"  the Franciscans said.

Among those parishes that held their processions as planned were Cospicua, Vittoriosa, Mosta, and Qormi.

A participant of the procession in Cospicua getting ready for the parade. Photo: Kummissjoni Ġimgħa Kbira Bormla/Facebook

Soon after the procession in Rabat was called off, residents and volunteers were seen taking down the black drapes that had adorned the balconies along the route.

The black drapes that adorned the Good Friday procession route in Rabat (Malta) were taken down soon after the event was cancelled. Photo: Ġimgħa l-Kbira Rabat

While the decision to cancel the procession was a difficult one for the organisers of Rabat’s Good Friday procession, the chances of something going wrong meant that it was not worth the risk.

 “The weather is what it is. You can’t risk what you’ve worked on for years being damaged in some way. And more importantly than that, you can’t risk people’s safety,” said Adrian Zahra, secretary of the Archconfraternity of St Joseph.

“The decision not to hold the procession was a responsible one. At the end of the day, the procession is part of our heritage, and we would have shown a lack of respect to this heritage had we risked it,” said Neville Muscat, president of L’Isle Adam Band Club.

Eamon Giordimaina, a member of Rabat’s Good Friday Commission, said the town had 100 new pavaljuni, as well as new drums and participants in the procession.

The Met Office issued a yellow warning due to the strong west-northwest winds. 

Most of the outdoor events on Maundy Thursday were also cancelled, including the much anticipated Night Walk in aid of Puttinu Cares Foundation which normally attracts some 10,000 participants. Prime Minister Robert Abela later announced the government is donating €50,000 to the charity.

This is not the first time that bad weather spoiled plans for the traditional processions. In 2022, strong winds and rain forced cancellations for the first post-Covid processions in several towns. Mosta’s event took place without the statues while Cospicua altered the route to spare participants the brunt of high winds.