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SENGLEA THROUGH THE AGES - 15 & 16
The statue of the Blessed Trinity a masterpiece of the sculpture Antonio Chircop
Up to some time ago the artistic statue of the Blessed Trinity was in a niche in the small room at the back of the sacristy, next to the front door of the Basilica of Senglea. Now it has been found a more prominent place. Whoever visits the Senglea Basilica can admire this statue under the first nave on the left hand side as one enters the church. It is no longer in a niche and therefore everyone can admire better its splendour. It was recently redecorated and the original colour scheme was observed so as not to diminish the splendour of this statue.
The promise made by a sick person.
The Fraternity of the Holy Trinity was set up in 1669. The aims of the Fraternity were to alleviate the social problems of the citizens of Senglea especially to free the slaves or else alleviate the sufferings of those in slavery in the hand of the Muslims. The feast of the Holy Trinity was always carried out on its proper day and the Blessed Sacrament was carried out during a devotional procession.
Frangisku, the son of Anglu Cini and Anna nee Zammit was born in Senglea on the 23rd February 1796. (1) When he grew up, Frangisku had special devotion towards the Holy Trinity. Unfortunately he suffered from ill health. In 1838, at the age of 42, he made a vow and he commissioned the statue. There is a plaque, which used to be fixed by the niche in the sacristy which confirms this vow. All things point out that Frangisku Cini was a member of the Fraternity of the Holy Trinity and that the statue was commissioned in 1840.
Work of art by a sculptor from Senglea
The statue is made of wood and is a very artistic and precious. The sculptor Antonio Chircop (born in Senglea on the 28th April 1798) was the son of Pawlu and Frangiska nee Quiglio. He was baptised on the following day at the collegiate. (2) Antonio Chircop studied under the tutorship of the architect and artist Giorgio Pullicino in Valletta. (3) Documents of that period show with certainty that the statue was ready by 1840 not 1839 as stated by Castagna. (4) A statue of this proportion would take about two years to complete and hence it was probably ordered in 1838.
Transported to St Philip Church
The statue was ready by the beginning of June 1840 so on the 8th June the Rector and spiritual Director of the Fraternity went to talk to the Provost of the Philippines*, Dun Frangisk Saverju Baldacchino. The Fraternity showed its wish to have the statue taken to the Church of St Philip, in a private manner, and from there taken in procession to the Collegiate. The Provost accepted immediately their request and was so happy that he said that this was going to be an unforgettable event for his movement. There is an authenticated document to prove this historic event.
The statue was taken to St Philip Church on Friday 12th June 1840 in a private manner and was put on the left hand side of the presbytery and left there till the morrow. It had candle lit up in front of it. (5)
Procession to the Collegiate
The procession started on Sunday 13th June 1840 at about 4.30 in the afternoon. The Fraternities of St Joseph, of the Immaculate Conception and of the Holy Trinity took part in the procession. They were followed by the clergy and the canons of the Collegiate. The procession was led by the Archpriest Dun Leopoldu Fiteni. The Provost met the procession at the front door of St Philip’s church and blessed the members of the Fraternities and the clergy with holy water. The Canons blessed themselves by touching the blessed water.
When the Archpriest arrived in front of the main altar he solemnly blessed the statue. The choir sang the antiphon and benediction by the Blessed Sacrament was administered to all those present. After the service was over the procession started its way back from the church of St Philip to the Collegiate accompanied by the ringing of the bells of both churches all along the way. For this special occasion the Collegiate was adored with damask and all the altars had the candles lit up. The following day, the 14th June 1840 was the liturgical feast of the Holy Trinity. The artistic was for the first time carried in the procession. (6)
The art of venerable usages
This statue is considered the best statue made by Antonio Chircop and in 1843 the following comment was made about this masterpiece: The Fraternity of the Holy Trinity cannot but be satisfied for giving us this statue of the Holy Trinity, a real artistic gem. The renowned sculptor showed his ingenuity when he sculptured this masterpiece. Whenever one looks at this statue one cannot but marvel and bless the hands who produced this venerable piece of art and which expressed such a great mystery in such a way. (7)
Frangisku Cini, who paid for this statue died in Senglea on the 26th October 1804 at the age of forty-four. He died just four months after the statue was inaugurated. (8)
The sculptor Antonio Chircop died on the 1st January 1969 at the age of seventy after a short illness. Antonio died at 15 Conception Street, Senglea and buried in the Collegiate. (9)
(1) APS, Bapt. Vl, f.463 (2) APS, Bapt. Vll. f.36; ara Eugene F. Montanaro, ‘L-Iskultur Antonio Chircop’, Programm tal-Festa tal-Qrendi, 1987, pp. 46-47. (3) Montanaro, l.c., p.46 (4) P.P. Castagna, L-Istoria ta’ Malta bil-gzejjer taghha, 2 ed., 1890, Ill, p.206. (5) AOS, memorie Diverse, Ill, f.319 (6) Ibid.m ff. 319-320 (7) Il Trionfo della Religione, 1843, p. 102 (8) APS, Def., Vl f. 284 (9) Ibid.m Vlll, f. 169; PRV, Deaths, 1869, n.16; Montanaro l.c., p. 47 * The movement which at that time lived and run the church and convent of St Philip
SENGLEA THROUGH THE AGES - 16
The Immaculate Conception in Senglea – a wooden statue sculptured by Mariano Gerada
Ever since it was set the Fraternity of the Immaculate Conception had the statue of Marija Bambina as the statue of the Fraternity. The statue of Marija Bambina used to be called the Immaculate Conception and the chapel of Marija Bambina was also known of the Immaculate Conception. In fact it was in the beginning of the 19th century that the Fraternity decided to have a statue of their own. The sculptor chosen was from Tarxien but spent a lot of his time living in Cospicua. He was a sculpture of wood and was renowned as the second best sculptor of wood in our islands after Melchiorre Gafa. He is Mariano Gerada (1766-1823). Some of the titular statues attributed to Mariano are (a) Our Lady of Grace of Zabbar (b) St Catherine of Zurrieq and (c) Santa Marija of Ghaxaq.
The statue of the Immaculate Conception of Senglea was ready by 1804. Whoever inspects the statue carefully will notice a good resemblance to the statue of St Catherine of Zurrieq. One can see that it is the work of the same artist. The statue was sculptured in Gearada’s home in Cospicua. The members of the Fraternity of the Immaculate Conception wished that the statue be transferred to the Collegiate in a solemn way and so the Procurator and the Spiritual Director of the Fraternity asked the Provost of the Philippines whether they would like to have the statue put up in their church before being transferred in procession to the Collegiate. The Provost Dun Bartilmew Bonavia and the Philippines accepted with joy this proposal. So the statue, shrouded in a veil, was transported in a private manner just after noon on Thursday 6th December 1804 from the sculptor’s home in Cospicua to the church of St Philip. The church was decorated with damask and all other ornaments usually used for special occasions. The statue of Our Lady was exposed at the church for the veneration of the faithful.
On that same day, after vespers was sung at the Collegiate, the canons, clergy and all the members of the different Fraternities walked in procession to the church of Porto Salvo (as the church of St Philip is also known). The choir sang the antiphon of the Immaculate Conception and the Archpriest, Dun Vincenz Cachia, blessed the statue. The procession then made its way back to the Collegiate accompanied by a large congregation.
On Saturday, 8th December 1804, the feast of the Immaculate Conception could be celebrated for the first time with the artistic statue. Nowadays, this statue has a niche in the sacristy of the parish church of Senglea. Without doubt it is one of the most precious and artistic statues which embellish the collegiate.
Documentation: E.E.M., ‘Mariano Gerada (1766-1823); The people’s sculptor’, Sunday times, 25/8/1985, p.20. Arch. Orat. S. Filippu, Memorie Diverse, III, f. 281.
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