The feast of Our Lady of Loreto is being celebrated in Għajnsielem on Sunday. Bishop Anton Teuma will lead a concelebrated Pontifical Mass at 9am. He will also deliver the homily. Solemn vespers, led by Mgr Joseph Attard, will be sung at 6.30pm. Marches will be played by St Joseph Band at 6.30pm.

The procession, led by Mgr Attard, and accompanied by the band, leaves the church at 7.30pm. The Leone Band will perform at Our Lady of Loreto Square at 8.30 pm.

A day of thanksgiving will be held on Tuesday. Għajnsielem archpriest Frankie Bajada will celebrate Mass at 7pm, after which the statue of Our Lady of Loreto will be returned to its niche.  

Today, Friday, is the last day of the triduum. Vespers will be led by Can. Joe Cardona at 6pm, followed by concelebrated Mass by Fr Samuel Grech. A grand demonstration with the statue of Our Lady will start from Mġarr Road at 9.30pm. The St Joseph and Xewkija Precursor bands will take part. A show by the ‘Għaqda Armar Għajnsielem’ will be held at 10.45pm at the crossroad between Mġarr Road, Għajnsielem Street and Cordina Street. The statue of Our Lady will be elevated onto its pedestal at midnight. A display of synchronised music and fireworks will be held at 12.30am. On Saturday, eve of the feast, the solemn procession of the relic leaves from the old parish church at 7pm, led by Can. Bajada.

The traditional march on the eve starts from Ħamri street at 9.30pm. ‘Torre di Fuoco’, a syncrhonised fireworks display, will be held in front of the club at midnight.

The religious celebration will be broadcast on Radju Lauretana 89.3 FM and on www.radjulauretana.com.

Għajnsielem, literally the spring of a Salem, a personal Arabic name, was established a separate parish in the middle of the 19th century. This took place on April 1, 1855, and the first parish priest was Dun Anton Cauchi of Rabat.

For over 100 years, pastoral life centred around the first parish church, opened and blessed on August 21, 1829.

The foundation stone of the present parish church was laid on September 14, 1924, and it was blessed on August 27, 1978.

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