The village of San Lawrenz is en fête this weekend for the feast of its patron saint.

On Saturday, eve of the feast, Cardinal Mario Grech will preside over the celebrations. He will concelebrate with the clergy of the parish during a sung mass at 7.30pm. The Levita Laurentius Choir and  the orchestra will be under the baton of Mariella Spiteri Cefai.

On Sunday, feast day, masses will be said at 5.30am, 7, 11 and 6pm. Gozo Bishop Anton Teuma will celebrate Pontifical Mass with homily at 8.45am. The choir and the orchestra will be under the direction of Spiteri Cefai. Solemn vespers in Maltese will be led by parish priest Mgr Trevor Sultana at 6.45pm.

The Church celebrates the liturgical feast of St Laurence on Tuesday, August 10.

The recitation of the rosary will held at 6.15pm.  The saint’s antiphon will be sung, followed by Holy Eucharist Benediction.

Parish priest Fr Charles Sultana will lead a concelebrated Mass, at 7pm. The Te Deum will be sung.

According to an entry in his book Gozo – Mediterranean colours, European dream, Gozo historian Joseph Bezzina records that this small village to the west of Gozo was for centuries known as Ta’ Ċangura, a term that is now relegated to the name of its main street.

The present toponym is derived from an old chapel dedicated to St Laurence that stood in the midst of that area since at least 1575. The saint hails from Hispania Tarraconensis, the present-day region of Aragon, then one of the three Roman provinces of Spain. He eventually moved to Rome where he served the papacy as a deacon. He was martyred on August 10, 258 during one of the harshest persecutions in the early Christian Church when he was about 32 years old.

The territory of San Lawrenz was dismembered from that of Għarb and established a separate parish on March 15, 1893. The foundation stone of the parish church was laid on November 21, 1886 and works were concluded in 1897. It was consecrated on September 26, 1897.

The altarpiece, a very good work by the well-known Maltese painter Giuseppe Calì, was raised in position in June 1889. It depicts the saint with his eyes raised towards heaven and the palm of martyrdom in his left hand. The calmness of the figure emerging from this depiction emphasises his complete unison with the will of God.