For the second consecutive year, the feast of Santa Marija at the Gozo cathedral will be a subdued celebration with all events being held inside the cathedral.
The triduum starts today (August 11), with mass at 6.30pm, followed by sung vespers with homily by Fr Marcello Ghirlando, OFM, and the recitation of the chaplet (kurunella) in honour of the Assumption by Ludovico Mifsud-Tommasi, recited since 1828. The singing of the antiphon and Eucharistic Benediction will bring the day’s programme to an end.
The Cappella Sanctae Mariae, under the direction of Carmel P. Grech, accompanied by the orchestra directed by maestro di cappella Joseph Debrincat, will take part. The same programme will take place on Thursday and Friday.
On Saturday, eve of the feast, Gozo Bishop Anton Tuema will lead the procession of the translation of relics at 6pm, followed by pontifical vespers with the participation of the choir and orchestra. Archpriest Joseph Sultana will lead a concelebrated Mass on the occasion of the 46th anniversary of the crowning of the Assumption altarpiece at 7.30pm.
On Sunday, feast day, the cathedral opens at 4.30am and Masses will be said at 5, 6, 7 and 8am. Cardinal Mario Grech will preside over a pontifical mass concelebrated with the Cathedral Chapter, the priests and members of the religious orders in Victoria at 9am. The Missa Maria in Cœlum Assumpta by Mro Ray Sciberras (b.1962), and commissioned by the cathedral, will be premiered during the pontifical mass. After Mass, Mgr Grech will confer Ġieħ il-Parroċċa on parishioners who excelled in voluntary service related to the cathedral. Admission to the pontifical mass is restricted and will be on a first-come, first-in basis.
Fr Daniel Sultana will celebrate mass for children and their families at 11am, while other masses will be said at noon, 4pm in English and 5pm. The second vespers will start at 6pm and it will be presided over by Archdeacon Tarcisio Camilleri.
A celebration of Marian hymns and prayers will start at 7pm with the participation of the Leone Band, under the baton of Colin Attard. The band will play the hymn Per la festa di Maria Assunta (1913).
The celebration will come to an end with Eucharistic benediction and an aerial fireworks display. Bishop Teuma will celebrate mass at 8.30pm.
The Gozo Cathedral Chapter would like all Maltese and foreigners who happen to be in Gozo on August 15 to pay a visit to the cathedral and implore the Virgin Mary’s protection in these difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The traditional horse races, dating back to medieval times, as well as Il-Wirja ta’ Santa Marija, first recorded in 1730, have been cancelled.