A detail of the statue of St Dominic, whose feast is being celebrated in Valletta today.

Valletta celebrates the feast of St Dominic today, a celebration that reminds us of the continuous work the Dominican friars performed in the capital city over the past four and a half centuries.

Dominican presence in Valletta dates back to 1566 when the Dominican friars of Vittoriosa led by Fr Damiano Taliana used to cross the harbour to assist spiritually the numerous workers which were working around the clock to transform the Xiberras peninsula into a splendid and iconic city.

Sometime later, Taliana was granted permission by Grand Master Pietro del Monte to build a small chapel and a convent where a small community of friars could live and offer their spiritual services to the first residents of the city.

In a couple of years the chapel became too small to cater for the increasing population of the city, so the friars decided to build a bigger church.

On April 19, 1571, architect Gerolamo Cassar placed the first com- memorative stone of the new church.

Three months later, on July 2, 1571, Pope Pius V granted the church under construction the title of principal parish church. At that time it was unusual granting parishes to religious orders, so this move created an ordeal among the local Church hierarchy.

The friars went to Rome to defend their parish and Pius V’s successor, Gregory Xlll, reaffirmed the parish status while del Monte also gave his consent in the establishment of the first parish of Valletta dedicated to Our Lady of Porto Salvu.

The church, built under the supervision of Cassar, developed structural defects after a series of earthquakes in 1693. In 1757 part of the church had to be closed down due to damage caused by heavy rainfall and gale force winds.

Twenty-three years later Grand Master Manuel Pinto de Fonseca ordered the friars to close down the church as it was a danger to the faithful. The friars sought a short-term solution and transformed the convent’s refectory into a chapel. This provisional arrangment lasted 19 years during which the friars, like the rest of the Maltese, had to face political turmoil when the Knights of St John had to leave Malta due to the French occupation.

The building of a new church started in 1804. Archbishop Vincenzo Labini blessed the first commemorative stone on November 25 of the same year, but in 1813 the bubonic plague reached Malta and work on the church had to stop abruptly. The first case was reported in Valletta on April 16.

The Dominican friars went all out to assist those affected by the plague. And on of them, Nicholas Trapani, fell victim of the disease. In 1816, Pope Pius Vll honoured the church of Our Lady of Porto Salvo with the title of minor basilica in recognition for the friars’s hard work during the plague.

Furthermore, in 1817, the same pope honoured the Dominicans of Valletta by giving them the unique privilege of wearing a black muzzetta (small cape) with white piping. When the plague was over, the friars continued with their church building and it was completed in 1815.

The new church was solemmly blessed by Bishop Ferdinando Mattei on May 15, 1815. The congregation was led by the Governor of Malta, Sir Thomas Maitland.

Today’s feast highlights

Solemn High Mass will be celebrated by Mgr Sylvester Magro OFM, Bishop of Bengazi, at 9.15am. The panegyric will be delivered by Fr Paul Gatt, OP.

The procession with the statue of the patron saint will leave the church at 7.15pm.