The statue of Our Lady of Sorrows venerated at the Franciscan church of St Mary of Jesus (Ta’ Ġieżu) in Valletta has been placed in the chapel of the miraculous crucifix for Holy Week.

As this year all processions with the statue of Our Lady have been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Friars, under the guidance of Fr Guardian Marcellino Micallef, thought it appropriate to expose the statue of Our Lady along the effigy of the 17th-century crucifix attributed to Spanish artist Frate Innocenzo di Petralia.

For the past two years, the crucifix underwent an intensive restoration and conservation project by the Arts Conservation Consortium through the support of Bank of Valletta.

The crucifix inspires lot of devotion from the faithful, with many drawn to it because of the way the artist managed to portray the intricate details of the crucification of Christ. Legend has it that the sculptor, Frate Innocenzo, woke up one morning and found the head of the effigy complete.

The crucifix is more than 400 years old and falls under the responsibility of the Arċikonfraternita tal-Kurċifiss (Archconfraternity of the Miraculous Crucifix). The archconfraternity has published a book about the crucifix. It was to be launched on March 27, but due to the current situation, the formal launch has now been tentatively pushed to September.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna announced that a national pilgrimage with the miraculous crucifix will be held on September 14.

He mentioned the pilgrimage while celebrating Mass at Ta’ Ġieżu church on the occasion of Our Lady of Sorrows day. Mgr Scicluna said the pilgrimage will be held if the authorities give their approval to public manifestations by September.