€8,100 wins honour of carrying Mġarr statue

The task of carrying an imposing 450-kilogramme statue of Our Lady of the Assumption in the Mġarr feast last night fell to a group of young men who had paid €8,100 for the honour in the traditional auction organised by the parish.

Four men, each representing groups of 12, tried to outbid each other in the 87-year-old tradition. But it was Kevin Vella who put in the highest offer at €8,100.

Standing in the shade below a smaller statue of Our Lady set in a niche in the church, the men had waited in the crowd for Fr Antoine Borg, the parish priest, to start the ceremony. A large crowd gathered to watch in anticipation.

As the church bell struck noon, Fr Borg made the sign of the cross and recited the Angelus with the crowd. He then asked those who wanted to make their bids to come forward.

The men stepped out of the crowd and stood in a semi-circle around a microphone connected to two large speakers as people craned their necks to get a better view of the proceedings or filmed everything on their mobile phones.

A man representing the group who won last year’s auction made an initial offer of €2,000. Speaking into the microphone in turn, the men raised their bids which within a matter of seconds had risen to €8,000.

Mr Vella raised that by €100. Two of the others bowed out straight away and after some hesitation, so did the third. The crowd had a winner.

People clapped and congratulated Mr Vella, who represents a group of people involved in parish work.

“We are honoured – it is our second time after we carried it in 2000. We have been waiting 10 years and finally it arrived,” he said.

He described taking part in the traditional bidding as a commitment. “But at the end of the day it is carried by those who put in the highest offer.”

Even though last year’s winning bid was of €12,000, Fr Borg said he was extremely satisfied with the amount brought in this year. All the proceeds go towards the parish’s needs.

“I expected much less especially because of the economic difficulties the world is going through and secondly because of the tragedy that hit the Vella family who played a huge part in the offers – I didn’t even expect this sum,” he said.

In fact, the festivities were marred by the tragic death of 25-year-old Wayne Vella, from Mġarr, who died on Wednesday crushed by the bucket of a small bulldozer he was working on at the family business.

The feast’s march was cancelled on Friday when the funeral of Mr Vella was held with a large crowd in attendance.

The tradition dates back to 1922 when the Mġarr parish priest bought the statue. However, he was so overwhelmed with requests to carry it during the procession that he decided to give the honour to those who made the biggest donation, Fr Borg explained. Only people who live in Mġarr can take part.

The statue was made in Marseille and cost £60 and 16 shillings. It was restored twice: last year and in 1958 when the skin colour and the other hues including the drapery were changed.