Restoration work is being carried out on the stone statue of Our Lady of Graces in Capuchins Street, Victoria.

The statue’s pedestal is being substituted with new stone and a damp course is being placed underneath against rising damp through capillary action.

The only available indication of the date of the erection of this statue can be deducted from the marble inscription located on its pedestal. This inscription dates to the pontificate of Pope Pius IX – to the period 1846-1878 – and refers to the indulgence granted by this pope to whoever recites the prayer inscribed on the marble plaque.

It is assumed that the statue precedes, or is contemporary to, the said period. No information is, however, available about who designed and erected it.

A few elderly locals attribute the statue to a disciple of the sculptor Psaila from Cospicua. It is also known that the statue and its specific location are strongly linked to the 18th century conventual compound of the Capuchin Order situated in the immediate vicinity, on the opposite side of Capuchins Street. Restoration is taking place in the Capuchins’ Convent.