The devotion among the Maltese to the Apostle St Andrew through the centuries is evinced in an exhibition which opened in Luqa yesterday and forms part of a number of activities marking the 1,950th anniversary of the saint’s martyrdom.
The chapel of the parish centre has been turned into an exhibition space, hosting various works of art related to the cult of the saint. These include paintings, life size and miniature statues, incisions and embroidery.
Highlights include a 17th century oil on canvas by Stefano Erardi and another by Giuseppe Calì (1899). These are on loan from St John’s Co-Cathedral and San Anton Palace, respectively.
Other paintings of historical importance are the 17th century painting Mary with Saints Andrew and Paul by Filippo Dingli, which was the titular painting of Luqa parish church until it was replaced by Mattia Preti’s work The Martyrdom of St Andrew, and an oil on canvas attributed to Francesco Zahra.
Various parishes and band clubs across Malta and Gozo have contributed to the exhibition titled Regi Similia Passvs, or he suffered like his Master.
The organisers managed to borrow works from the Gozo Cathedral, Sannat, Kerċem, Għargħur, Floriana, Balluta, Lija, Żurrieq and St Dominic parish church in Valletta, among other localities.
There are also a good number of works from private collections, like clay statuettes which have been popular since the 1960s, a modern wooden statue hailing from Barcelona and an incision by Philip Chircop.
Parishioners and the two band clubs of Luqa, the Unjoni Philharmonic Society and St Andrew’s Band Club, have also contributed to the exhibition.
The devotion to St Andrew in the Maltese islands can be traced back to the Middle Ages.
“Frescoes depicting the saint are found in the mediaeval chapels of Ħal Millieri and Bir Miftuħ,” said Fr David Farrugia, former vice parish priest of Luqa and one of the organisers of the exhibition.
Over the years, devotion to the saint proliferated and a number of churches, altars and fraternities were dedicated to him. Two parishes chose St Andrew’s patronage: one being Luqa and the other Fontana although the latter is also dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
St Andrew, the first Apostle to be summoned by Jesus into His service, was a fisherman. Various statues portraying him can be found along the coast of the islands. Two prominent ones stand in the fishing villages of Marsaxlokk and Xlendi. According to a number of historians, the first settlers of Luqa were also fishermen.
Fr Farrugia noted that, in old times, Luqa was situated close to a port – Marsa.
“A large part of Marsa, extending from Grand Harbour to Qormi, was a marshland until the Knights of the Order of St John drained the area and reclaimed the land in the 17th century,” he explained. The first settlers built a chapel dedicated to St Andrew in the 1400s and the parish was founded in 1634.
The timing of the exhibition, which runs until November 28, coincides with the liturgical feast of the saint, which falls on November 30. Luqa celebrates the external feast on the first Sunday of July.
The exhibition will be open from 6 to 9 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays and from 9 a.m. to noon and 5 to 9 p.m. on Sundays. Entrance is free.