Holy Week display goes underground

A wartime underground shelter that had been closed after serving its purpose during World War II has been re-opened and will host a religious display related to Holy Week.

The shelter has been cleaned up by youngsters who frequent Luqa's St Andrew's Band Club. Every year they strive to do something original in connection with Holy Week.

The shelter was one of 19 public shelters dug at Luqa, whose close proximity to the RAF airfield made it a very dangerous village to live in during the war. Indeed, part of the church was destroyed by enemy bombs. Yet many people opted to stay and thanks to pressure exerted by several of them, including one Erkole Valenzia, the public shelters were dug.

The shelter where the exhibition will be held was one of the largest and had three entrances. A total of 169 people could be accommodated. An altar was hewn in the rock at the end of the shelter's corridor, which also provided access to 22 rooms. The emblem of St Andrew, Luqa's patron saint, was sculpted in the altar.

The shelter lies below the two squares in the centre of Luqa and the youths had a hard time ridding it of the mud and water that had accumulated.

Statues of terracotta by Christopher Ebejer from Qrendi accompany old photos and an audiovisual presentation has been prepared. Other material related to Holy Week is also on display.

Charles Attard, chairman of the band club's youth section, said the entrance to the shelter was found in 1995 while club members were digging a basement. It was closed again but the youngsters had always wondered how it could be used again.

The shelter will be open in the evenings until April 14. It will be open in the mornings on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.