Chapter 13
The statue of the Risen Christ (l-Irxoxt) and the Easter procession
It is fitting that we come to an end with information regarding the statue of the Risen Christ (l-Irxoxt) and the Easter procession. This procession is an old one in Senglea and most probably it started being carried out at the same time as the Good Friday procession. We have it on records that it was already being held in 1714 and it was taken as the focal and closing ceremony of the feasts surrounding the Holy Week.
Whereas the procession of Good Friday was always in the hands of the Fraternity of the Crucifix, the procession of the Risen Christ was in those days, in the hands of the Fraternity of the Immaculate Conception, which was set up in Senglea roundabout 1650. The Fraternity owed both the statue of Our Lady of Victories (Marija Bambina) and the statue of the Risen Christ.
The statue of the Risen Christ is rather unique in its make up. The lower part of the statue is made of wood and the upper part of papier mache. The reason is obvious. The statue had to be solid enough to withstand the jerks it gets when the bearers run with it and at the same time light enough to be carried around without difficulty. The make up of this statue gives us a clear indication that even in those days the act of running with the statue part of the way was already being envisaged. For some years the procession was not held. Why? When did it stop? Up to now we do not have any documents which say exactly what happened and when but we can deduct that some nasty incident took place and this led to the cancellation of the feast for a good number of years.
As we have seen before the donor of the sunburst of the statue of the Entombment also made a wish that this will also be used for the statue of the Risen Christ. Now the statue belonged to different Fraternities and so on Easter Saturday the procurator of the Fraternity of the Crucifix used to hand over the sunburst to the procurator of the Fraternity of the Immaculate Conception so that it could be put on the head of the statue of the Risen Christ. In 1879, the procurator of the Fraternity of the Immaculate Conception made a note in the register of the Fraternity that this custom had to stop. We also know that during the supposed incident either the bearers fell with the statue or else hit the column of the statue of Our Lady of the Middle (il-Madonna tan-nofs). This happened probably happened during the time of Archpriest Dun Frangisku Colombo who was elevated to the grade of Monsignor on the 29th April 1879. From the little notes we have we can assume that the incident with the statue took place on the 13th April 1879, though none of this can be proved. If this is so, the procession was not held for ninety years since it was re-started in 1969.
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From that day onwards the statue always remained in its niche in the vestry of the Oratory of the Crucifix alongside the other Good Friday statues. In 1962, following persistent pleas by the community, the Archpriest Dun Gwann Karlu Burlo gave permission for the statue to be exposed in the Oratory and in the following years it was put up in the church. In 1969 the Archpriest Dun Gwann Sladden asked permission from the Arch Bishop Michael Gonzi for the procession to be restarted and his application was granted.
During these last years on the initiative of the Archpriest Dun Vincenz Cachia the statue was completely overhauled. In 1989 some alterations were carried out on the statue by the artist John Pace. The statue and the grave which serve as a pedestal were restored and gilded. Parts of the cloak of Jesus were also gilded. In that same year the Senglea born silversmith Vanni Bartolo made a new silver sunburst to be used exclusively for this statue. A garland of artificial flowers was also made to surround the base of the statue. In 1994, a new dais, modelled on those of the statues of Good Friday was made. It was done by Azzopardi Woodworks of Haz-Zebbug.
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The statue is carried by ten bearers each wearing white garbs. They give up their place five times during the procession when the statue is given a run around by people dressed as laymen. When the procession arrives at Francesco Zahra Square, next to the Church of St Philip, we have the blessing of the pastry figures (figolli) and of the Easter eggs. The local band, Queen’s Own accompanies the statue throughout the procession.