SENGLEA THROUGH THE AGES - 37 & 38

The Magistrates and the jurors who used to take part in the procession of Corpus Christi

     There are some traditions of the mid 18^th century which have close connections with the feast of Corpus Christi. The three cities of Cottonera had a great tradition of celebrating with great pomp feasts connected to the Eucharist. Vittoriosa used to celebrate the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Cospicua marked the feast of Pentecost which was also the end of three days of adoration. Senglea in turned celebrated the feast of Corpus Christi which was celebrated on the Sunday after its liturgical feast day.

     In 1747, the vicar curate Dun Felic Gambin made a note of all the traditions and obligations by which this feast was celebrated. He wanted them to be his guide and also serve as a guide to those who followed him. In those days it was important that all these details were noted since the parish priest of Senglea was absent from the parish for long periods on various occasions. So this information could be passed from one hand to the other.

     A couple of days before the feast of Corpus Christi, the parish priest or whoever was in his place at the time, used to inform the procurator about the time the church service was going to start. The procurator was usually a layman because the organization of the feast was in the hands of the fraternity. The procurator than took a written programme to the Magistrate of Senglea and invited him to take part in the service by being one of those persons carrying the canopy for the procession.

     For the feast of Corpus Christi the parish of Senglea was not wont to send out invitations. The jurors congregated before the procession at the home of the storekeeper. This person was the owner of the store were ammunition used to be stored. There the jurors put on their official toga and wait for the start of the procession. They then walked in line from this place to church. Their footman than informed the parish priest that the jurors had arrived. The footman used to help the jurors when they were to board their horse cabs and did other duties.

     The parish priest than used to go and meet the jurors at the main door of the church. He carried with him the aspergillum and each juror used to touch it as a sign of blessing. The parish priest than led the jurors to their stalls. The stalls were armchairs specially prepared for important persons such as the jurors. Once the service was over the parish priest led the jurors to the main door of the church. It does not seem that the jurors took part in the procession.

     In those days protocol was very important and held to be strictly observed. Therefore it was the duty of the parish priest of his representative to know exactly what had to be done in these circumstances.

SENGLEA THROUGH THE AGES - 38

Dignitaries who took part in the feast of Marija Bambina during the times of the Knights in Malta

     This chapter is taken from the final chapter of the instructions left for posterity by the vicar curate Dun Felic Gambin in 1747. He wanted that things were done properly on all occasions more so for the titular feast of Marija Bambina. By 1685 Senglea was already using the present statue of Marija Bambina for the 8^th September procession. In those days other parishes were not wont to take the titular statue in procession, but the procession of Senglea was a procession made following a solemn promise made by the people of Senglea and also the statue was already attracting great devotion from the faithful.

     Two days before the feast, the parish priest or the vicar curate and the procurator went by boat to Valletta. Their first stop was in St Lucia Street where the jurors lived. The jurors were invited for the feast. The procurator informed the leading jurors about the time of the first vesper, the time of Mass on feast day and the time of the second vesper. All the jurors were invited.

     The parish priest himself and the procurator than used to go to the Grand Master’s palace and invite him for the feast. The same invitation was also extended to the Bishop.

     Obviously the whole programme was finalised in the last two days before the feast day. On the same day that the Grand Master and the Bishop received their invitation they would inform the parish priest for which function they were going to attend. The choice was between the first and second vespers and the Mass. The parish priest took note of their time of arrival in Senglea.

     The procurator than informed the Magistrate of Senglea about the time of arrival of the Grand Master and of the Bishop so that he could be in church waiting for them when they arrived. The jurors followed the same procedure as that for the feast of Corpus Christi and made it a point to be in church before the dignitaries arrived.

     Once the invitations to the Grand Master and the Bishop were handed over the parish priest went straight to the Inquisitor’s Palace in Vittoriosa and invited him also for the feast of Marija Bambina. The Inquisitor was handed the time chosen by the Bishop and he chose different times to attend.

     On the same day in the afternoon or on the day prior to the feast day, the procurator, who was usually a layman, took an invitation to the Governor of Senglea. He would give him the list of the services which other dignitaries were going to attend to and let him make his choice for which service he wanted to attend to.

     These dignitaries used to attend for most of the services held in Senglea’s parish on feast day. Their presence gave the feast a more solemn look. The citizens of Senglea were very proud and happy with the attendance of these high dignitaries.

NEXT