The feast of the Visitation is being celebrated in Għarb on Sunday, July 2. On Saturday, July 1, mass for the elderly of Għarb will be celebrated at 9.30am, including the Te Deum and the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. Rosary will be recited at 6pm, followed by mass, presided by Cathedral archpriest, Mgr Joseph Sultana, at 6.30pm.
The children’s choir, directed by Maxine Debrincat, will animate the mass. A procession with the relic, led by Gozo Bishop Anton Teuma, will start from the Eucharistic chapel to the basilica at 7.30pm, followed by solemn vespers, led by Mgr Teuma, assisted by the Cathedral Chapter together with the Visitation Chapter of Għarb, followed by the Salve Regina and the litany in honour of Our Lady and sacramental benediction.
On Sunday, July 2, a solemn concelebration mass, presided by Mgr Teuma, with the participation of members of the Cathedral Chapter, together with the Collegiate Chapter of Gharb, will be said at 9am.
Mgr Teuma will deliver the panegyric. The Missa Visitationis Beatae Mariae Virginis by Mro Paul Portelli, with the participation of the parish choir under the direction of Maestro di Cappella, Antoine Mercieca, will be performed. The St Margaret Band will play marches at 11.30am. Second vespers by the Collegiate Chapter will be led by archpriest Mgr Trevor Sultana, at 6.30pm.
The procession, accompanied by the Visitation Band, will leave the church at 7.30pm. The Victory Band of Xagħra will perform in front of the parish church. The celebrations will be broadcast on Radio Visitation 92.4 FM.
The 21st edition of the traditional infjorata, designed by Michael Bajada, will be held at the basilica’s parvis on Sunday. It is being held on the initiative of Għarb local council, together with the Assoċjazzjoni Espressjoni Arti Maltija (Għarb), the Gozo Ministry, the parish and the feast committee.
Għarb became the second region of Gozo to be established as an autonomous parish on August 29, 1679. The parish church façade was designed on Francesco Borromini’s Sant’Agnese in Agone at Piazza Navona, Rome. Work on its foundations started in 1699 and it took 30 years to complete. The church was blessed in 1729 and consecrated on September 28, 1755.
The altarpiece, a beautiful work by Gian-Nikol Buhagiar (1698-1752), depicts the visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Elizabeth. The church became the second Collegiate of Gozo with a chapter of canons that sung the Holy Office daily on May 19, 1774. It was elevated to a minor basilica on November 28, 1967.
The titular painting of the Visitation by Gian-Nikol Buhagiar at Għarb basilica.