Restrictions placed on the Holy Week procession in Mġarr have been lifted after a bitter dispute between parishioners and the Church earlier this year.

The news comes 20 months after Mġarr parishioners defied the orders of the Curia and their parish priest, going ahead with a procession that included five statues and countless actors.

According to a Curia directive issued in March 2014, only a statue of Christ the Redeemer could be used in the Way of the Cross in Mġarr. The Curia said that “the Way of the Cross is intended to be a penitential pilgrimage for those who attend”.

However, Mġarr parishioners ignored the Curia’s orders. Fr David Muscat, who had been serving in the village for about seven years, took part in the procession.

He was then transferred to another village, on orders from the Archbishop, for failing to support the new parish priest, Fr Emanuel Camilleri, over the restrictions.

Meanwhile, Fr Camilleri was also removed amid growing friction with some parishioners, a decision he openly criticised, insisting the Church had a leadership crisis.

Earlier this month, however, the village’s new parish priest, Mgr Kalċidon Vassallo, together with Mġarr’s Holy Week Celebrations Commission, met with Archbishop Charles Scicluna.

A Curia spokesman confirmed to this newspaper that the restrictions on the Mġarr procession have been lifted.

He said the procession details would be evaluated once an official request was presented by the parish priest.

Asked whether Fr Muscat would return to the parish, he noted that such decisions were based on pastoral needs.

When contacted, a member of the Holy Week Commission said the news had been welcomed by the parishioners.

He noted that the procession was this year held without additional statues, and the commission was still in the process of submitting details about next year’s procession, which will be held on March 22.