Statues' restoration

This year the Archconfraternity of the Holy Crucifix, established at the church of Our Lady of Jesus (Ta' Giezu), in Valletta, decided to restore the set of statues which are carried in procession on Good Friday.

This was possible after the Curia approved such restoration. Over the last few weeks the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows was ably restored by Fr Charles Vella.

The cost of materials for the restoration of this statue ran into hundreds of liri. The Archconfraternity has no fixed income and depends on the collections it makes during the processions of Our Lady of Sorrows, Good Friday and the special collection box set up near the altar of the miraculous crucifix at the same church.

Work on the restoration of the other seven statues will be taken in hand after Easter. To restore this number of statues, which have 14 life-size figures, one needs a good sum of money, at least to buy the expensive restoration materials needed.

The Archconfraternity has already received some donations but these are not enough. It would be of tremendous help if people and organisations, especially those of Valletta, could send a donation to the Archconfraternity so that these statues could be restored to their former glory.

One must remember that most of the statues are over 200 years old and are the work of the best Maltese statue makers - Saverio Laferla, P.P. Azzopardi and Carlo Darmanin - and other unknown artists.