The Valletta Soup Kitchen Triptych

The Soup Kitchen in Valletta, run by the Franciscan friars and which was officially inaugurated in August of last year, has been specifically established to cater for those who live from day to day, those whose life’s normality has been severely curtailed by unrelenting incidents of bad luck. 

A five-year restoration programme of the old refectory started in July 2016. This building dates back to 1584 and had fallen into a state of disrepair and abandon. Now it has been repurposed to accommodate this kitchen that regularly provides the homeless and those who are encountering severe financial difficulties with nutrition. Some of these people have been scavenging for their daily food in communal waste bins, among other undignified places.

The Soup Kitchen regularly provides the homeless and those who are encountering severe financial difficulties with nutrition. Photo: Jonathan Borg

A group of volunteers come up with a healthy menu that is served on the premises; this has brought some measure of respite to these vulnerable individuals who have fallen on bad times. Besides food and drink, the Soup Kitchen is a place where people can socialise, discuss problems with, among others, Fr Marcellino Micallef, who is the leader of the enterprise, and make new friends. Some of the patrons walk for kilometres in the knowledge that their daily diet is being provided for by these kind volunteers together with the Franciscan friars of this community.

Vince Caruana working on the Valletta Soup Kitchen Triptych.

Artist Vince Caruana embarked on a site-specific triptych which enhances the space with a spiritual dimension through his interpretation of a biblical episode – that of the miracle of bread and fish. Jesus fed the hungry crowd that was gathered to listen to his words. The Gospel of St John relates how Jesus multiplied five loaves and two fish, provided by a boy, to assuage the hunger of the multitude and deliver a universal message of divine providence.

In the central panel of the triptych, Caruana has included the stylised iconography of the loaves and fish on the chest of Jesus, thus rooting the biblical episode to the underlying theme. The Christian fish symbol of Ichtus, the acronym from the Greek Ίησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ, meaning Jesus Christ Son of God Saviour, is one of the defining symbols of Christianity and owes its origin to Paleo-Christian times. The integrated composition of the loaves and fish could also be suggestive of a heart, as in the Heart of Jesus, which is much dear to those with a Maltese Roman Catholic upbringing. 

The Saviour welcomes all those who seek refuge in the refectory with open arms, His hands blessing the food, the guests and the volunteers… in fact, the whole community. The text at his feet, Agħtuhom intom x’jieklu, (“Give ye them to eat”) is from the Gospel of St Luke. This sounds like an entreaty, pleading the volunteers to provide these souls with sustenance.

“The triptych enhances the space with a spiritual dimension”

The two side panels represent the community in all its entirety, in that it transcends gender, race, social standing and beliefs. The members of this community share the food and drink as well as anecdotes. Caruana has epitomised the spirit of the enterprise in this site-specific work in a contemporary interpretation of an everyday miracle of divine providence that quenches both material and spiritual needs. 

The structure of the triptych is evocative of a cross, thus reflecting on the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and the Last Supper, in which the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist was established.

The Valletta Soup Kitchen has served more than 30,000 meals in the first four months since its inception.

Triptych, central panel (detail). Photo: Jonathan Borg

The Valletta Stampede Memorial

This memorial commemorates a tragedy that had befallen the Maltese islands way back in 1823 when 110 children perished during carnival celebrations. They were from poor families, gathering at Valletta’s Church of Jesus to receive alms in the form of bread that was distributed to assuage their hunger.

The bronze memorial, cast at the Cornille Havard foundry in France, is situated at the site of this terrible event whereby an annual feast devoted to revelry and abandon was transformed into the sacrifice of poor innocent souls, driven to their lot by poverty and hunger.

The central, rather elongated monk represents the members of the Valletta Franciscan Order of the Friars Minor, his ascetic face seemingly deeply saddened and resigned in the face of the tragedy, hand lifted offering a blessing of sorts and as a symbol of providence in the face of it all. There is the inscription of the date of the tragedy at his feet – 11.02.1823 – almost 200 years ago.

Caruana’s composition provides the narrative for the event in the three symbols to the left of the figure. 

The symbol of the bread, the reason why the children had gathered at the Church of Jesus in Valletta, in order to be given a piece of bread at a time when famine plagued Malta.

The symbol of the mask, representing the time of year (carnival) when the tragedy occurred.

The symbol of the hand, reaching out to be saved, representing all those who perished on that fateful day.

These two artworks by Caruana have a common thematic link underlying them – the Franciscan Order and its service to the poor of the community. These works, in some way, represent the dualities in life – hunger and relief from it, solitude and community, festive spirit and tragedy. The artist invites us to an exercise in soul-searching, with history and everyday life as backdrops.