Righting wrongs at Sannat

The people of Sannat are still waiting with great nostalgia for their missing jewel to be reinstated in its rightful and original place in their parish church.

It is very unfair to remove a monumental high altar, erected through the sacrifices of our forefathers, on the premise that this had to be done in line with an order from the Holy See which wanted a table altar instead.

A letter by Mgr Anton Gauci (January 1, 2005) implied that the Holy See did not authorise the removal of high altars. According to him, Pope Paul VI's apostolic constitution Missale Romanum, used the term to "erect" and not to "erect instead". So the people of Sannat were misled and it was very unwise to remove the high altar for "various reasons".

Those who approved of this permanent scar to Sannat parish church should have a guilty conscience for the rest of their life because Sannat's high altar was as magnificent and artistic as the one that still stands in its original place at the Gozo cathedral, despite a altar table being erected there.

The physiognomy of the interior of Sannat parish church has drastically been changed. From the aisle one notices a great void and there is a strong feeling that something in the church is missing; this is of course the result of the removal of the high altar.

The people with their roots in Sannat are very unhappy about this serious matter. Many sensitive parishioners who opposed the dismantling of the high altar had been ignored and treated as if they were insignificant by those few who had the power to change things. They have very painful memories of so many recently wrecked treasures in our church. These treasures could have been saved if obstinacy did not prevail and the new table altar could have been comfortably cradled without sacrificing anything of our heritage found in the church. What a pity that so many historical jewels had to be lost.

For "various reasons", the high altar should have never been touched because its removal led to many losses in our church. As a result, the old priceless yellow, black and white intricate marble pavement of the presbytery, identical to St George's basilica and the Gozo cathedral, had been bulldozed and replaced by rather ordinary greyish tiles.

But it is different with people who really care for the heritage. I know of responsible people who refused to change even a very small number of defaced tiles by new ones. This was not because they were misers but because they cherished the heritage. So, carefully, they uprooted the defaced tiles, turned them upside down, and scraped clean and meticulously polished the bottom of each one until they made a new shiny surface out of the old one. By doing so, they have managed to preserve their forefathers' heritage. These highly sensitive people should be applauded. They teach the young generation a lesson as how to preserve and protect our historical treasures. Future generations will know their forefathers through the monuments that are preserved and not by the ones that are obliterated.

But the culture of preservation does not seem to rank high in the list of priorities of the present administration at Sannat parish church. To add insult to injury, the baroque choir furniture, with its detailed sculpture and wood craftsmanship, which harmoniously graced the surroundings of the baroque church, has also unfortunately been dismantled and placed only God knows where! It is very heart saddening indeed.

Having said that, some new elements have been introduced in the church. Unfortunately, they do not match the rest of the church's architecture. The artistic treasures that our ancestors had worked for have been lost through insensitivity, especially in the case of the high altar, which, besides being a historical monument, reminded everyone that one was entering the house of God.

For "various reasons" Santa Margerita's baroque church expects to have, once again, the altar maggur (the main altar), rather than an inconspicuous table altar only.

At first glance, with the removal of the high altar, Sannat church looks as if it has been converted into a concert hall. The Holy Eucharist is not prominent anymore and is hardly visible.

It would be very wise if a competent board, set up by the new Bishop of Gozo and including representatives of the Curia and of the state authorities responsible for sacred art, would look into what happened at Sannat parish church and which has led to some people not setting foot inside the church anymore.

I hope our new pastor will dedicate his attention to this matter so that the lost sheep will come back to the fold. Priests are human beings and they can also make mistakes.

Sannat church's patrimony also forms part of the national heritage of the Maltese islands. There had been a lot of talk but not enough action by groups who claim to safeguard our heritage. Action speaks louder than words, so we are still waiting for those responsible and who are in duty bound to practise what they preach to do something about the matter. In other words, they must check on those who neglected the heritage and, where possible, to force them to correct the wrongs they have done, especially at Sannat parish church.