Pope Leo XIV appointed Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the General Secretariat of the Synod, as his special envoy to the celebration of the coronation of the titular painting of the Assumption in the Cathedral of Gozo, Malta, to be held on the 15th of August.

The Vatican said that the special envoy will be accompanied by a pontifical mission composed of the following ecclesiastics: Msgr. Tarcisio Camilleri, vicar general of the diocese of Gozo and Msgr. Edward Zammit, chancellor of the diocesan Curia of Gozo.

On Sunday evening, Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops and Legate of Pope Leo XIV, led a Solemn Pontifical Mass at the Cathedral of the Assumption, Victoria, in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Pontifical Coronation of the titular painting of the same Cathedral with a golden crown, which took place on 15 August 1975 in Savina Square, by the Cardinal Legate of Pope Paul VI, His Eminence Franjo Šeper, as well as of the 75th anniversary of the declaration of the Dogma of the Assumption.

Cardinal Grech was welcomed by the Cathedral Chapter and by the Bishop of Gozo Anton Teuma who addressed him with words of welcome: “Today we are welcoming you among us not only as my Predecessor; not only as someone who has come and gone here countless times to provide service as a Choir Chaplain; not only as a Gozitan who loves his country, the Church and our Diocese. Tonight we are welcoming you to this beautiful Cathedral as the Pope’s Envoy. For us this is a truly special occasion, because in you tonight we want to see our Father Pope Leo XIV. Therefore we welcome you with the help of the Immaculate Heart and with all the generosity of our Mother Mary… We thank you for having accepted our request and that of the Pope to be here among us and to convey his word to us.”Cardinal Legate Mario Grech reflected on the golden crown on the head of the Assumption which evokes the restoration of God’s chosen people. These are some reflections from his homily:

“Today, while we recall the spiritual and ecclesial roots of our nation, at the same time, the same popular consensus reached 50 years ago to make this recognition of Saint Mary as Queen of Gozitans, places upon us the responsibility to ask whether today’s social framework offers reassurance that this heritage will be transmitted to future generations.

“In a Synodal Church, this is not the responsibility of the Bishop of the Diocese alone, but of all the baptised, all of whom are expected to respond according to the call and mission of each one of us.

“The choice made by the Gozitan people when they contributed to the creation of the crown of the Assumption was not the result of partisanship or religious folklore, but one inspired by Scripture and the ancient Tradition of the Church.

“The belief that Mary is Queen of all creation has a biblical foundation – it is confirmed by the author of the Apocalypse – and has been recognised by the Fathers of the Church since the 4th century.

“In the crown with the twelve stars we have a representation of both the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve Apostles, the Church.

“Over time, this crown of the people of God suffered damage, because Israel lost its moral compass. The spell of paganism captured their hearts, minds and souls. Thus came the invasion and exile.

“It was as a result of this bitter experience that the remnant of the people of Israel began to speak of the restoration of this nation that had lost its identity. Thus the flame of hope began to be rekindled so that the people could be rebuilt. The beginning of this process was the discovery by King Josiah of the holy book of the Word of God, the cornerstone of the chosen people.

Thus the crown of the twelve tribes, although broken, began to be restored. This process of repair and renewal continued to repeat itself until Christ came.“With the mandate given to me by Pope Leo XIV to come and strengthen among you the joy of the Gospel, today I would like to ask one question: Are we aware that the crown that shines on the head of our Holy Mary, can become like the crown that represents the chosen people? Are we aware that this can also happen to the new chosen people, redeemed by the blood of Christ, the Son of Mary? Are we aware that an invasion of cultural and pseudo-cultural forces is underway among us – with local accomplices as well – which is increasing the wealth of the few and at the same time creating new poverty, is eroding human dignity, seducing us to even forget God, is setting us up on paths that lead us into the wall, is robbing us of true freedom because it creates a number of dependencies, leads us to buy the chaff and throw away the gold, offers us pleasure and not joy, and above all is robbing us of true hope?

“As Pope Leo XIV asks me in his letter to teach you about the Virgin Mary and her Assumption with great zeal, I urge you to keep the crown on Mary’s head intact and untarnished, so that it may truly be a crown that represents the people of God in our island. If you see that this crown is cracking, it is urgent that together we take seriously the work of restoration whose foundation is Christ and his Gospel.

“As God said to King David, Saint Mary is telling us: ‘You do not place the crown on me, but I will help you obtain a crown that does not fade away.’ In this way, the Gozitan people, the people of the Assumption, will be a precious crown on her head.”

In a ceremony also concelebrated by Mons. Savio Hon Thai-Fai sdb, Apostolic Nuncio to Malta, the Leone Band accompanied the Titular painting playing religious hymns in a Procession to Savina Square, where fifty years ago the Coronation took place. The Victoria Scout Group and delegations of the other Collegiate Chapters of Gozo also took part in the procession.

Here the Cardinal Legate led a Celebration of Marian Adoration, with moments of reading, prayer and the singing of Marian hymns, in which the Consecration of the Gozitan people to the Assumption of Mary was renewed and a Golden Rose was offered to her image. Cardinal Grech read the Message sent by Pope Leo XIV for this occasion.

Top photo: Anthony Grech / Leone Philharmonic Society; and below photos: Cathedral of Gozo

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