On 11th February 1858, the Virgin Mary appeared to a young shepherdess girl named Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes in the Southwest of France. The Virgin Mary appeared 18 times in all between February and July of that same year.
Many Maltese and Gozitan people have been to Lourdes, some even more than once because they feel this place gives them a form of spiritual peace. In this article we will briefly take a look at the spread of the devotion towards Our Lady of Lourdes throughout our islands, and a brief look at the Confraternity. We will only take a look at a few concerned places.
One of the first recorded paintings still well cared for to this day is found in the parish church of St Lawrence in Vittoriosa. It was painted in 1875, by Ignatius Carlo Cortis seventeen years following the apparitions of Our Lady, and is now endowed with a beautiful silver frame.
Twenty years following the apparitions of Lourdes, in 1878, the Confraternity of Our Lady of Lourdes was founded in Qrendi by the parish priest Fr Peter Paul Xuereb. Fr Xuereb was born on 20th April 1844 to Peter and Mary nee Cordina in the city of Senglea. He was ordained priest on the 22nd December 1866 and shortly after took possession as Canon Cantor within the Collegiate church of Senglea.
In 1869 he became parish priest of the parish church of Qrendi where he did his utmost to spread the devotion towards Our Lady of Lourdes. Nine years later he founded the Confraternity of Our Lady of Lourdes in this village and even wrote the Lourdes chaplet which we recite today.
It is worth noting that together with his family, Fr Xuereb was also a great benefactor to this Confraternity. Among the many works that were contributed to the Qrendi parish church, we find the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes sculpted by Karlu Darmanin, a painting of Our Lady of Lourdes located in the sacristy and the medal worn by the rector of the Confraternity during processions.
This Confraternity is the only one dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes in Malta and has just celebrated its 141st anniversary.
The Confraternity
The main objective of this Confraternity, is to spread the message of Our Lady of Lourdes. Just as Pope St John Paul II dedicated the first apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes to the sick, the Confraternity also gives assistance to the sick and those with special needs in Qrendi. The Confraternity takes care of the parish Liturgical functions performed in honour of the Virgin of Lourdes while it organizes many activities to promote religious values in the Community. Together with the parish priest it is responsible for organizing the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes which is held every year in the last week of June.
Further to this feast, as part of its processional obligations, it takes part in all the processions of the Qrendi Parish namely those of Corpus Christi, the titular feast of the Assumption of Mary into heaven, the feast of Our Lady of the girdle and the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
The Confraternity is made up of several members who on average meet once a month. As members, they undergo some form of fast/denial to foster a sense of sacrifice in their spiritual life as Our Lady asks of us. They are duty bound to organize learning activities, especially prayer meetings to help achieve their goals. Members also pray the rosary and recite the chaplet written by their founder Fr Peter Paul Xuereb.
Here is a verse from the chaplet
Tkun imbierka mela dejjem,
O Koncetta mingħajr ħtija,
Taħt it-titlu minn ta' Lourdes
Lilek nagħtu kull foħrija.
The Confraternity also publishes a yearly magazine by the name of Mariapolis which means the City of Mary, which is distributed to households in Qrendi before the feast of Lourdes. One further role of the Confraternity is to care for and preserve items related to the Confraternity that are located in the church like the statues of Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Philip Neri.
We will now take a look at some other places in Malta and Gozo where this devotion has spread. In Malta there are two parishes that are dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes. These are located in San Gwann and Paola.
The San Gwann Parish Church devotion began with the advent of the Franciscan Capuchin friars to this locality in 1956. They built a church dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes which was finalised in 1959. It became a parish 6 years later. The feast of this parish is celebrated in the first week of August.
In Paola, the parish priest of the time, Fr Francis Xuereb saw the need of a church, to serve the people of the surrounding area. Thus they built a church dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes. It bacame a parish in 1974. The feast of this parish is celebrated in mid-August.
Following the apparitions in Lourdes, 23 years later, in 1888 a chapel was built in Floriana in honour of Our Lady of Lourdes cared for by the Franciscan Capuchin friars. This is a very unique chapel as it houses a small grotto with a statue of Our Lady and St Bernadette situated behind the main altar. This small peaceful chapel offers the devout a place for spiritual reflection and prayer at the foot of Our Lady of Lourdes. Many people visit this grotto especially during the months of the apparitions. Several marriage ceremonies are also held in this chapel.
Moving on to Birżebbuġa, we find a cave dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes. During the days of the apparitions of Our Lady many people visit this location whilst the devotees pray the rosary and recite the chaplet. There is a tradition where a yearly pilgrimage is held by parishioners of Marsaxlokk who walk from their village to this cave, praying to Our Lady for their intentions.
In Gozo we also find the devotion towards Our Lady of Lourdes. Thanks to Bishop Peter Pace, following a visit to Lourdes, the devotion began to flourish in Gozo. In 1879 he erected a statue of Our Lady on the site of tal-Kortin, in Mgarr where the chapel was to be built in Her honour. The chapel was designed in the gothic style of the first church in Lourdes. The corner stone was laid on 10th June 1888 and works were completed in 1893. Anyone who goes to Gozo, cannot fail to see it, as it is perched high on the hill dominating the port of Mgarr.
One other place in Gozo dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes is the Basilica of St George. Here there is a lovely statue of Our Lady of Lourdes which is taken out in procession every year in Her honour, on the Saturday following the 11th of February apparition.
Let us therefore pray to Our Lady of Lourdes to step in for us and help all the sick in their needs and give them courage to not lose heart in their sufferings.
Fr Hermann Duncan O.Carm
Balluta