Replica altarpiece for St Joseph chapel at the Citadel in Gozo
Mass at the chapel on March 19 at 1pm to be followed by tour of nearby partly restored Palazzo Cagliares
The feast of St Joseph is being celebrated at the chapel dedicated to him at the Citadel in Gozo, on Thursday, March 19.
This year, the celebration, including mass at 1pm, will mark two notable events in the church’s 400-year history. Prior to mass, cathedral archpriest Noel Saliba will inaugurate and bless a replica of the original altarpiece depicting the flight of Joseph, Mary and Jesus into Egypt. Artist Paul Falzon was commissioned to create the painting by Paul Zahra and his wife, Josephine, who sponsored it. The original painting is now at the cathedral museum.
After mass, those present will be able to tour and admire for the first time the partly restored Palazzo Cagliares, next to the chapel of St Joseph. The palace is a 17th-century historic building constructed by Bishop Baldassare Cagliares (1615-1653), the only Maltese bishop during the Knights’ period. The restoration of the palazzo has been ongoing for the past two years.
St Joseph chapel was built in 1625 on the site of an earlier one through the munificence of Bishop Cagliares, adjacent to his residence, Palazzo Cagliares. The simplicity of the façade, with the typical round window above the door, is balanced by the chequered arched ceiling inside.
Bishop Cagliares adorned the chapel with a beautiful altarpiece depicting the Flight of St Joseph into Egypt – a work that he very probably acquired abroad. It can now be admired at the cathedral museum.
In the mid-1930s, the chapel was extensively restored by Sir Harry Luke, then Lieutenant Governor of Malta. Fifty years later, in the 1980s, a group of youths under the leadership of Fr Tony Mercieca and Anthony Spiteri, undertook its rehabilitation to its former glory.