On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the donation of the reliquary bust of Gozo's patron saint Saint Ursula by Governor Fra Eugenio Ramirez Maldonado to the Matrix Church in the Cittadella, a statue of the saint has been installed in the Dar il-Gvernatur niche at the entrance of Victoria. The statue was commissioned by the Ministry for Gozo and is the work of sculptor Angelo Agius.This house has recently been re-located and restored as part of the works on the widening and reconstruction of the access road. The statue was placed in a niche that exists on the facade of the house which currently houses the offices of NGO Wirt Għawdex. The statue is inspired by the figure of Saint Ursula painted by Giuseppe Hyzler in 1831 in the titular painting on the saint's altar in the Cathedral of Gozo.In the meantime, on the initiative of the Sacred Art Commission of the Diocese of Gozo an exhibition on the cult of St Ursula in Gozo has been set up at the Banca Giuratale in Rabat. The exhibition includes a number of historic paintings of the saint amongst which a painting of Saint Ursula which was formerly hanging in the Banca Giuratale, the seat of the local administration of the island, the Universitas. The main exhibit is the reliquary bust which has recently been restored by Heritage Malta on the initiative of the Ministry for Gozo. Historically, this statue has been placed several times for public veneration at the same Banca Giuratale when the people of Gozo sought the intercession of the saint following earthquakes and other natural calamities.
The exhibition is open from Monday to Friday between 8am and 2.30pm and on Saturday and Sunday between 9am and noon. The exhibition is open until 26 October.