A memorable event (1)

The occasion to mark the end of the Pauline year, held last Monday, June 29, was a memorable one, although some shortcomings have occurred and one needs to rectify for the record and for future activities.

Emphasis was made with the organisers, well ahead of the event, that St John's Square might not be ideal for such a national activity, and this has been proved right. In fact one could have easily noticed the restriction of space both for the good number of priests concelebrating, who remained unseated during the whole activity, as well as the public who had difficulty following the ceremony from the side streets. Members of the public present in the vicinity of the front arcades were repeatedly asked to move further back, when it was evident that space was restricted. It was a blessing in disguise that no adequate publicity was made by the organisers for the national manifestation in Valletta, otherwise the confusion could have been more evident.

Although it was appropriate that the occasion should focus on St Paul, one expected the organisers to have included due mention to the particular circumstances narrated in detail by St Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles Ch 28 1-10.

The connection to St Publius was missing and an opportunity was lost to convey the message about the aim of involving the statue of St Publius during the event. Furthermore, no information on the matter was included in the commemoration booklet circulated among those present.

On the other hand, the TV viewers who followed the live transmission of the whole event were informed accordingly, and one should congratulate PBS commentator Mario Micallef for his well prepared commentary and balanced informative narration of the connection of the two statues of St Publius and St Paul, transported on shoulders for the occasion.

As already reiterated in my letter to The Times (June 13) we should be proud to have such an important mention in the Bible, but as usual we try to undermine any special features that make our nation proud. A case in point is the repeated omission (on special religious occasions) of St Publius, (one of our national patron saint) from the litany of Saints.

I would also like to clarify that contrary to what was stated in The Times of last Tuesday, it is not the first time that the statue of St Publius was carried shoulder high to Valletta. In 1894 a procession was held with the statue from the church in Floriana to that of St Paul Shipwreck in Valletta, to implore the intervention of the Lord, when the authorities were considering the introduction of legislative measures in connection with divorce and mixed marriages.

As regards the organisation of any future religious activities of such a kind, I am sure that the post mortem exercise should particularly indicate that extraordinary mass national celebrations should be held in a suitable place such as the granaries in Floriana which could have facilitated the organisation of the event in all senses.

It has to be pointed out that notwithstanding the few negative comments of some individuals, (as reported in The Times) the vast majority of the people attending the event showed maturity and were proud to have participated in such an uncommon manifestation. Credit should be given to the police and other security personnel who were on the alert for any illegal behaviour.

May I take the opportunity to thank the Archpriest of Floriana, Fr Richard Borg for his last-minute arrangements to have the return back of the statue of St Publius to Floriana church, with all the grandeur it deserved.

Finally, one must also congratulate both Archpriests of Valletta and Floriana, as well as the Għaqda tal-Pawlini (Valletta) and Grupp Ħidma San Publju, (Floriana) for their collaboration and incessant support to promote the cult of the respective patron saints of Malta.