The tapestries at St John’s Co-Cathedral

Finally, we get to see once more the magnificent St John’s Co-Cathedral tapestries in all their splendour, in the place for which they were designed and made. 

The 1990 decision to stop them being hung was one of the most difficult decisions in my career. This was the result of what I witnessed when they were put up for the visit of Pope John Paul II. 

A 1990 file photo of the tapestries hung at St John’s Co-Cathedral for Pope John Paul II’s visit to Malta. Photo: Daniel Cilia

The tapestries used to be brought to the church from the museum, subjected to a 90-degree bend as they were brought to the balcony above the main door and placed on the floor of the cathedral. They were then hung by ropes, often falling in a cloud of dust. When the museum was built in the 1960s, no thought had been given as to how the tapestries would be brought back to the cathedral. 

The cornice of the cathedral is exceptionally small. We had no machinery or high ups at the time to put them up. Only one man had the courage to go on the cornice and pull them up with ropes and a harness. Many would fall and further attempts had to be made. Unfortunately, we had no mobiles at the time to record all this.

The decision to stop this practice was taken with the full backing of Joe Galea Naudi who was the curator of the St John’s Museum.

The archbishop and then minister Ugo Mifsud Bonnici were also in agreement too, as was Fr Marius Zerafa.

For the correctness of history, it must be recorded that Galea Naudi initiated the cleaning and restoration programme together with studies of a better way to hang them up.

Ray Bondin, executive coordinator of the Valletta Rehabilitation Project 1987 to 2007 - Għajnsielem