THE FRATERNITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
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The devotion towards the Immaculate Conception in Senglea is an old one.
One can safely say that the devotion dates back to the early days when
our parish was set up in 1581. In old documents which described the
layout of the church there is a mention of an altar, the second one on
the right hand side of the main altar, which was dedicated to the
Immaculate Conception and this was years before the Fraternity was set
up. This devotion continued to increase and even more so after the
providential arrival of the beloved statue of Marija Bambina in our city
in 1618. The statue was immediately put up in the niche on the altar of
the Immaculate Conception and the statue started to be referred to as
the statue of the Immaculate Conception not as the statue of Marija
Bambina as we know it nowadays. This altar with the statue of the
Immaculate Conception on top of it received special mention during the
pastoral visit made by Bishop Balaguer in 1653 wherein this altar was
praised because it was a fitting place which drew devotion and was fit
for any type of ceremony.
The Fraternity of the Immaculate
Conception was set up during that period. We do not have the exact date
when but know that it was between 1647 and 1650. The Fraternity was very
popular in fact in a few years after it was formed it already boasted a
membership of over sixty persons. One of the main activities of this
Fraternity was a meeting of religious instructions and prayers every
Tuesday. The members were also involved in some social work. They used
to do door to door collections and after the Tuesday gathering was over
they used to distribute the money or goods collected to the poor of the
city
When the plague of 1676 was over, as a sing of thanks giving to
God and
Our
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Lady they started to
celebrate with great devotion a Mass for fifteen consecutive Saturdays prior to
the feast of the Immaculate Conception in December. The Fraternity took part not
only in the procession of Corpus Christi
and of the titular feast but it also used to organise a procession on the feast
of the Immaculate Conception and for many years this procession was held with
the statue of Marija Bambina. On the fourth Sunday in May they used to organise
a procession in honour of Our Lady of the Lily and even for this occasion the
statue used was that of Marija Bambina. We have it recorded that ever since the
early eighteenth century ever since the Fraternity of Charity which later on
became the Fraternity of the Crucifix started to organise the procession of Good
Friday, the Fraternity of the Immaculate Conception began to organise the
procession with the Risen Christ on Easter Sunday.
The members of the Fraternity wear a white garb with a
light blue silk cincture and cape. The standard of the Fraternity was also light
blue, a colour which is usually associated with Our Lady. The procession with
the statue of Marija Bambina was continued for up to 1803. From 1804 the
Fraternity started using the new statue of the Immaculate Conception which is
still in use today and which is a beautiful and delicate piece of art made by
the renowned Maltese sculptor Mariano Gerada.
When the parish of Senglea was elevated to the status of
Collegiate in 1786, there was the need to build a separate chapel wherein the
Blessed Sacrament could be deposited, because the main altar was going to be
needed for a lot of liturgical services. The best practical place was the altar
of the Immaculate Conception. The statue of Marija Bambina remained in its niche
which was on the altar and so the altar kept the same title that is that of the
Immaculate Conception but the chapel was referred from then on as the chapel of
the Blessed Sacrament. During the time of the feast the same procedure continued
to be used namely the picture of the Immaculate Conception took the place of the
statue of Marija Bambina which naturally during that period is put up in the
church. The painting of the Immaculate Conception is attributed to the Senglean
artist Francesco Zahra. When the Basilica was re opened after the War, the
statue of Marija Bambina was transferred to a niche in the choir and the
painting of the Immaculate Conception found a permanent slot on top of the altar
in the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament.
Decorations and ornaments
Today this Fraternity is not long active but its
decorations and ornaments which were collected over a period of years still
decorate the altar. As we saw earlier this chapel is now the place for the
Blessed Sacrament and so most of the decorations and ornaments have Eucharistic
thyme and most of it belong to the Fraternity of the Sacrament – appoint already
made in a previous article. Still some ornaments which belonged to the
Fraternity of the Immaculate Conception are still being used on other altars.
There is a missal bound in silver which was made overseas in the beginning of
the twentieth century. The altar cards are a piece of art made by the silver
smith Alessio Fenech and were made during the time of Grand Master Pinto. There
are also two candelabrums, a silver bell and various other small items.
This Fraternity has all the equipment needed for a
procession. The standard of the Fraternity is light blue damask with the emblem
embroidered in the middle. It was made at the end of the nineteenth century. The
standard’s pole is made of silver and was made by the silversmith Aloisio Dalmas
in 1804. The emblem on top of the standard pole was made by the silversmith
Paolo Busuttil in 1857. There are also a pair of lanterns which were made in
1863 by Roberto Cannataci; a procession leader’s staff made in 1814 by the well
known Alessio Dalmas and the medallion wore by the prefect which made by the
silversmith Gio Carlo Cassar in 1774. The twelve star studded halo which
surrounds the head of the statue and the moon underneath the statue’s feel are
also made of silver. Here one must point out that the pedestal was made by the
artist Mariano Garada in 1804 and for nearly one hundred years was also used for
the statue of Marija Bambina. In 1903 the silver pedestal of Marija Bambina was
made and it was modelled, with some modifications, on that made by Mariano
Garada.
This Fraternity was active till the start of the war.
Many of its documents and registers now form an integral part of the parish
archives.
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