The Vittoriosa Museum, situated in the Oratory of St Joseph in Vittoriosa Square, is reopening on May 18, post-COVID-19, on the occasion of World Museums Day.

The museum forms part of Collegiate Church of St Lawrence and was founded in 1990 on the occasion of the ninth centenary of the Vittoriosa parish. It includes the Greek chapel of Our Lady of Damascus, which houses the Great Siege relics of Grand Master Jean De Valette, namely his battle sword and hat.

The museum, run voluntarily by the Vittoriosa Historical and Cultural Society, possesses various other historical artefacts, including paintings, ecclesiastical silverware and vestments, and a selection of old books. These exhibits have lately been creatively reassessed and, where possible, they were arranged thematically.  With funding from the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector under the SiS scheme, a number of stands with historical information have been set up. Similar stands are being placed in St Lawrence church.

The museum’s reopening ceremony will take place at 7.15pm. It will be led by the Archpriest of Vittoriosa, Rev. Can Carmelo Busuttil. Vittoriosa mayor John Boxall will be in attendance. A Marian prayer in the Byzantine rite will be recited within the sanctuary of Our Lady of Damascus by the Greek Papas, Martin Zammit.

During the event, Franco Davies, author of the recently published Heritage Malta volume Swords of the Religion, will present a copy of the book to the archpriest. The book is enhanced with photography by Daniel Cilia and prominently features the Vittoriosa sword of De Valette.