Never mind the present controversy over crucifixes and crosses. Next weekend faith, art, culture and history blend together in an open weekend at St Mark’s Priory, Saqqajja, Rabat. The event has been baptised Vetustior Glorior. Brother David Cortis, secretary to the group which is organising this event, explains to Marie Benoît why the Augustinians are opening their home to the public
Have you ever opened your priory to the public before?
Brother David Cortis: No, this is the first time that this type of opening of the priory (or monastery as the Americans would say) is being held and it is a good opportunity for those who would like to know more about it to visit it.
MB: How far does it go back in history?
BDC: It has some 600 years of history. Augustinian friars have lived here for centuries. From here they have shared with the Maltese their goods, their joys, difficulties and sufferings, dreams, deceptions and hopes. Our experience is that of a community based on the Rule of Saint Augustine.
MB: What exactly is the purpose of this Open Weekend?
BDC: It is two-fold. First of all it is a discourse of faith and culture. The public is invited to visit our house, and to see the priory and church, both of them built in beautiful baroque style. The second purpose of this Open Weekend is fund-raising for the restoration and conservation project of the façade of the priory and the church, which will cost in the region of e60,000. We need to raise the money. While enjoying the visit and the activities prepared for this occasion, there will be a small contribution of e2 (e1 up to 12yr old children).
Brother David then goes on to tell me that his community believes that the Priory could be a communication point for the society around them. They wish it to be better known and thus better appreciated. There is a whole story behind it including those stories of individuals within the Priory who are still living there. The wish of the Augustinians is that all this will be done in a spirit of dialogue between culture and faith and it is hoped that other projects could result.
MB: Who makes up the community in the priory?
BDC: At the moment, the priory is used as a formation house for young people who answer the divine call to follow Jesus in the footsteps of Saint Augustine in the Order of Saint Augustine. There are four friars and four students, three of them simple-professed and the other a pre-novice, which is the stage before the novitiate.
MB: Can you give our readers a very short history of the Priory and St Mark Church?
BDC: After the Order of the Hermits of Saint Augustine, today known as the Order of Saint Augustine (www.osanet.org) was founded in 1244, during the pontificate of Pope Innocence IV, there were communities in southern Italy and in Sicily. It is from there that the first Augustinians arrived in Malta. In line with the foundation’s aims, the first Augustinians set up near Mdina. In fact, during the 1429 Turkish Siege, the Augustinians lost their priory and all their possessions. They then built another priory outside the walls of Mdina. This time the priory was brought down by the Maltese in July 1551 following another threat of another Turkish Siege on Malta. The reason was that the priory was too close to the walls of the city and thus Turks could use it for military purposes.
Brother David goes on to say that in this event the Augustinians lost everything once more. A tradition says that the wooden cross on the stone column in the garden in front of Mdina, indicates where the priory before the present one stood.
The Augustinians had to wait until 28 August 1555 to be given by the Mdina Cathedral Chapter the small chapel of Saint Mark and a few houses adjacent to them on the Saqqajja outside Mdina. Thus they were present in Malta once more. The Augustinian friars gave the construction work of the priory and the church to Glormu Cassar. The church, a prototype of Saint John Co-Cathedral, with its art treasures, still stands today. The present priory, an architectural jewel considered to be the best example of Maltese baroque in religious architecture goes back to the 17th Century. Andrea Belli was behind its construction.
MB: What do you consider to be the architectural highlights of the Church and Priory?
BDC: Over and above the architecture in itself, which is the principle highlight, with a magnificent view of the façade of the priory, where the event is going to be held next weekend, some of the other main highlights are The Cloister built so that the friars can live in a spirit of contemplation; The Bell Tower , which is also known as Is-Sultan tar-Rabat, as it is the first structure one encounters when entering Rabat. The Scala regia or the main staircase is one of the most beautiful to be found on these islands.
Then there is The triptych which is an important work of art made up of three panels, a central Virgin with the Child and the side panels of St Paul and St Augustine. This is attributed to an unknown early fifteenth century, South Italian artist. There are also a number of interesting and important Augustinian paintings on the first floor. Some of the artists represented are Filippino Dingli, Pietro Erardi, Tito Troia, and Rafel Calì.
Let us not forget the recently refurbished refectory which includes walnut tables dating back to 1666 as well as the work of important artists such as Mattia Preti and Stefano Erardi. There is also a crucifix which goes back to 1705, in the sacristy. There are other beautiful paintings and also the Bibliotheca, which is today named after Saint Thomas of Villanova and which includes some books that go back to the 16th century.
Everyone is invited to this Open Weekend, primarily to go and experience the Augustinian way of living in the community of faith and equally to help them raise funds to continue with the project of restoration of the façade of the priory.
If you care about our heritage and are a lover of the beautiful then support this event next weekend.
Next weekend’s activities
• Exhibition of paintings by well-known contemporary Maltese artists and artists painting on the spot during the weekend.
• An exhibition of photos of the priory by the well-known prize-winning photographer Chris Azzopardi.
• On Saturday at 8pm Recital Concert from the New Coral Singers under the direction of Mro. Robert Calleja will be held in Saint Mark Church
• There is an opportunity for individual visits, while guided tours of the priory and the Church will be carried out from 11am onwards every half an hour. There is also the opportunity for guided tours in the English language between 12pm and 4pm, with the possibility of other languages such as Italian, Spanish and German on a pre-booking basis.
• At Saint Mark church there will be masses on Saturday at 6pm, and on Sunday 7am, 8.30am & 10am. The 6pm Saturday mass will be animated by the Saint Paul’s Choral Society choir under the direction of Dr Hugo Agius Muscat while the 10am Sunday mass will be animated by the Choir Sine Macula under the direction of Mro. Tony Pace.
• Refreshments and home-made cakes will be sold in an adjacent hall, where other ancillary objects will be sold.
Opening Hours: on Saturday from 10am to 8pm; Sunday from 10am to 5.30pm.
For further information, kindly refer to www.augmalta.org/sanmark or contact Fr Josef Sciberras OSA, Fr Leslie Gatt OSA, or Bro David Cortis OSA on 21454111 or davidcortis@gmail.com. You can also leave your donation in the following bank accounts BOV 40017822176, HSBC 58068040001
