The statue of Christ crucified, sculpted in wood in 1848 by Pietru Pawl Azzopardi, and venerated at St George’s basilica in Victoria, is being restored by Italian experts.

This miraculous and devotional masterpiece is from the Maltese Renaissance and serves as the centre piece of the Good Friday procession which is held annually from the basilica.

The Neapolitan expert restorers, Rev. Prof. Ugo Dovere and Aurelio Talpa, had already carried out monitoring on the Crucifix and other wooden statues in the basilica, which make up an extensive collection of baroque sculptures. In 1838, Azzopardi sculpted the wooden statue of St George which became the first titular statue in Gozo.

This year’s Holy Week procession from St George’s basilica falls on Maundy Thursday and starts at 6.30pm.