The traditional San Girgor festivities, held annually on the first Wednesday after Easter, took place yesterday morning in Zejtun, where people gathered to celebrate the life of St Gregory, one of the four great Latin fathers of the modern Church. The feast was also celebrated in Kercem a few weeks ago, on the first Sunday of March.

The feast kicked off with a procession, led by the Archbishop Mgr Paul Cremona, outside a small chapel dedicated to St Clement, in an area of Zejtun known as Gebel San Martin on the outskirts of the village. A crowd, comprised mainly of young children and elderly locals who have attended the annual event for a significant portion of their lives, trailed the procession as it led to the Zejtun parish church echoing the Litany of Saints being sung by the parade. Worship continued inside the parish church, where the Misericordia was recited and the anthem of St Catherine was sung.

After a short period of worship inside the church, Archbishop Cremona once again led the procession to the old church of Zejtun, which although dedicated to St Catherine, is synonymous with St Gregory due to the presence of a statue dedicated to him just outside the church entrance. The religious festivities ended with the Eucharistic concelebration being held here.

However, the conclusion of the religious procession did not mark the end of the day’s celebrations. The feast of San Girgor unofficially marks the opening of the swimming season, and many ventured further south to Marsaxlokk to catch a glimpse of those brave enough to observe the traditional San Girgor dip in the sea, though the weather was not as good as it could have been.

The bustling Marsaxlokk market provided the ideal background for the celebrations, with time-honoured activities such as tombla and ghana intermingling with the market stalls and horse-drawn carriages in the area. Along the shore, some were seen tentatively wading into the water, while a handful of people took advantage of the short spells of sunshine and enjoyed their first fully-fledged swim of the year.

San Girgor is also celebrated in Gozo in the village of Kercem, a site built around an ancient chapel dedicated to Pope St Gregory the Great. The site gained historical importance due to the annual traditional St Gregory procession from the Matrix church in Victoria to this medieval chapel, upon the saint’s feast, usually held on the Sunday closest to 12 March. This year’s celebrations in Kercem were anticipated to 2 March due to the ongoing election fever. The highlight of the feast was a Mass led by Gozo Bishop Mgr Mario Grech.

The Kercem parish church is the only Gozitan church which is jointly dedicated to two saints, but external celebrations for the San Girgor feast tend to be minimised due to the feast falling within the Lenten period.

The San Girgor procession was first held on 12 March, 1543, feast of San Girgor, at a time when the Catholic Church in Europe was in crisis. Bishop Domenico Cubelles of the Maltese diocese, in the hope that universal peace and unity would be achieved among the rulers, wanted to hold a procession from the Cathedral church in Mdina to the farthest church in Malta, the old church at Zejtun.

The procession then was added to the religious traditions in Malta. In time, the procession became an established part of Maltese religious customs. Its original aim was in time forgotten and gave rise to speculation over the feast’s origins – many insist that the procession was first held in 1519, after the plague that ravaged Malta.

Many years ago, the Maltese used to consider St Gregory’s Day as a major feast. In fact, a tradition was enacted, where on the wedding day the groom would promise to take his bride to Zejtun for the feast.