In our country, religion has always played an important role in the life of our ancestors. In fact, one can mention the Neolitic period when temples such as Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra were used as places of worship. As time went by, the Maltese always tried to do their best to decorate their temples especially when our island was baptised by St Paul in the year 60 AD.

When the Knights of St John came to Malta in 1536 a new era started for the Maltese. The Knights were a religious order approved by the Pope, so they continued to instil in our people not only love for religion but also love for all that is sacred such as buildings, sculptures and paintings.

Noble persons and well-to-do families and even some knights used to have a small chapel annexed to their house. Such houses still exist in Mdina and Valletta. These chapels had all the necessary items one expects in a regular church, including church vestments. They were used for reciting prayers, especially the rosary, and on particular days Mass also used to be celebrated.

Although many people were in favour of having a family chapel some houses were not big enough to afford one room to be used exclusively as a chapel, so a particular altar, called the portable altar, was invented.

This altar was fixed in a wardrobe or cupboard so that when not in use it complemented the sitting room furniture without showing to be an altar. At the same time, the altar had all the necessary items to be used for a proper function, like a chapel in bigger houses.

But most of the Maltese used to live sometimes in extreme poverty and space in houses was very limited. So a type of small altar or a small shelf in front of a holy picture was considered a suitable substitute for the portable altar. The shelf used to form part of the dining room furniture and was commonly referred to as L-ixkaffa tal-Madonna (the Blessed Virgin’s shelf).

As time went by, people remodelled the shelf and in some households it developed into a church model, generally resembling in some way or another the local parish church. Up to 60 years ago almost all families had a church model in their households. During the months of October and May many families used to gather in front of the ‘shelf’ or church model to recite the rosary. Models were generally decorated with damask, candles, flowers and even chandeliers.

During World War II, many families experienced the destruction of their homes in Valletta and Cottonera, and they also lost their church models. These models were generally inherited from father to son and some of them were embellished by professional artisans who lived in Cottonera.

After the war, with the influence of the mass media, especially the introduction of television, new hobbies were introduced and the traditional hobby of church modelling started to fall behind.

In 1986, three church model enthusiasts met in Floriana to try to revive the tradition of church modelling. An appeal in the local newspapers was positively received by other enthusiasts and a new society by the name of the Għaqda Dilettanti Mudelli ta’ Knejjes was formed. Today almost 300 members form part of the society which operates from its premises in Valletta.

The society organises various activities to promote the hobby. Monthly meetings are held during which professional tradesmen lecture members on specific works such as guilding, clay designing and artificial flower arranging, known as ganutell.

The society also organises video forums during which experts in folklore and artistic fields lecture about traditional feasts and heritage. The society also issues a bimonthly magazine Il-Knisja Tiegħi where committee members have the opportunity to write about various aspects of religious folklore.

The society’s main event is the annual exhibition being organised at St Augustine’s Hall in Valletta during the first two weeks of Lent. This year it will be held between March 8 and 23. Around 100 members exhibit their works, including church models, statues and other items associated with religious folklore.

For more information about the society and its activities visit https://www.freewebs.com/ghaqda_dilettanti_knejjes/