For those like me who have been bred and raised in the midst of the traditional Maltese festa then the summer months translate into the culmination of several festas celebrated in honour of a patron saint or other. Beyond the parochial rivalry, which at times is becoming totally ridiculous and does not reflect anything religious, the village festa is in the main a showcase of voluntary work at its best. Without such voluntary work none of the village festas would be organised.
Now that the village festa has been added to the list of the UNESCO's world intangible cultural heritage, the onus is even greater on those that are directly involved in promoting an even more professionally organised final product. It is also a well-known fact that such village festas with all their colourful splendour contribute to the nation's touristic product. Such a contribution renders credit to all those involved and merits also financial backing by central government.
Yet, one still has to pursue further a thought provoking process to examine, amid all this valid contribution, whether certain instances are still applicable given the current state of affairs with regards to the local catholic church. In a previous contribution of mine entitled Revisiting our village festas which appeared in this newspaper on 06/05/2021, I had argued that their might come a time when the ecclesiastical community will stick to organising the internal festivities whilst the external festivities might be taken over by the local council.
This latter process might be the consequence of resolving the useless pique between parishioners in any town or village which appertain to the titular or the secondary feast, creating unnecessary pressure on the archpriest or parish priest assigned to that particular parish. The recent events in Zurrieq over bell ringing as Our Lady was transferred from the Oratory into the Parochial church is a case in point. Also, close to home for me is the ongoing pique between the musical societies as both celebrate the 150th anniversary since inception with consequential spillovers during the celebration of the respective feasts.
In a recent mass celebrated by His Grace Archbishop Scicluna at Manikata church - a recent parish characterised by the absence of any parochial rivalry - one of the bedding prayers pronounced by himself made reference to the celebration of village festas. His Grace prayed to the Almighty to ensure that the feasts we celebrate here on earth prepare us for the eternal feast in heaven. His facial expression said it all!!! More recently, the auxiliary bishop Mons. Joe Galea Curmi, too expressed concern about the ongoing trend of adapting band marches with a set of lyrics which rather than describing the virtues of their patron saint supporters end up insulting those who appertain to the secondary feast within the same village. To be objective in my words, this also happens the other way round!!!
Over the years I too have tried to put in my weight to try and project our feasts to be more onerous towards the patron saint rather than ending up entangled in unnecessary pique, which I reiterate there is nothing Catholic about. Needless to say I have borne the brunt for trying to build bridges rather than going with the flow. Yet, I have, absolutely, no regrets for doing so and I still hope that there might be significant changes in future years.
As the number of church goers dwindles even further, this is a serious issue which needs to be addressed because with the existing possibilities provided by social media, the only message which can be conveyed is, unfortunately, a negative one. Managing change wherever is needed is the quantum leap which the local archdiocese needs to engage with. In doing so, it would not only be fixing a perennial issue but it would also be making the life of a parish priest more serene.
Ivan Grixti is a senior lecturer in Financial Accounting at the University of Malta