The patron saint of Gozo

So, Mgr Joseph Farrugia, archpriest emeritus of St George's Basilica and lecturer in dogmatic theology at the University of Malta, deemed it fit to write again in reply to a correspondence written by someone whose competence is doubtful (May 12). Closing his short introduction, he said: "Mercifully singing is not Anton F. Attard's forte". I assure him I do not need his compassion because, in the opinion of several people, singing is in fact my forte. I do not use my voice to sing but as a poet I do it with my mind and heart. I have been writing poetry since I was 12 and the year 2009 happened to be the 50th anniversary since the publication of my first poem way back in 1959. To mark the occasion, a personalised stamp and a commemorative card were issued. So much for the preliminaries, now let me get down to the real issues.

Mgr Farrugia immediately switched over to his usual arrogant tones by using such words and expressions as "prattles", "accuses", "those who challenge his academic competence", "weird memes". I never insulted anybody with such expressions as "versed only in abject ignorance" unless I could prove it. But our erudite archpriest emeritus did, in spite of his uninvited intervention, and he did it, so he says, for the love he nourishes for the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church and their common veneration of St George.

However, all this is a different issue from what I have been writing.

My issue was that St George is not the patron saint of Gozo but only St Ursula is the officially-recognised patron saint of our island. The other issue was a historical one. It is not true that the cult of St George in Gozo was introduced by the Byzantines. Mgr Farrugia was not able to prove his point. Vox, vox et praeterea nihil, talk, talk and thereafter no proof whatsoever.

In spite of St George's inclusion in the 1960 reform of the calendar, as far as I know the circumstances prevailing when this saint was struck off the calendar have not changed. They remain the same even to this day. This issue was not raised by me. What I maintained in this regard was that this was no historical proof of his cult in Gozo having been introduced by the Byzantines or as patron saint of Gozo.

The local synod of the 17th century proclaiming St Ursula as patron saint of Gozo is a historical fact. It needs no further proof.

As St James of It-Tokk was the parish church of the Castillians, so St George's was the parish church of the Aragonese or Catalans, call them what you will. St George's parish church was the last one built of the three parishes of Victoria. In fact, it was built in the cemetery adjacent to St Catherine's church.

Where else could they build it if not in this central place? The fact that one of the doors of St Catherine's church led to the sacristy of St George's church may be proof that the latter church was of later construction.