The third Sunday of July is Gozo’s annual St George’s Day. On this day, the city of Victoria is packed with cheerful crowds, to enjoy this popular feast.

This year will be no exception at it also marks the 175th anniversary of the titular statue of St George, carved in wood by Pietro Paola Azzopardi in 1839.

Gozo also celebrates St George on the official day, April the 23rd, commemorated all over the world, and his festive memory is kept in Gozo and Malta, as it is held in the homes and churches of the Christian East and West, in Istanbul, Canterbury and Rome, as well, very probably, as in the most distant regions of the globe.

St George’s Day is perhaps not kept in all the regions of the world in the same manner, nor does the Martyr’s memory necessarily convey a uniform religious significance. In our case, both April 23rd and the Third Sunday of July are primarily religious festivities although they have different, albeit complementary, emphasis.

While the April day is exclusively devotional and practically confined to the day’s internal church celebrations, the July festa is spread out over several days of external festivities, cultural fare and popular entertainment.

This year to mark the the 175th anniversary of the titular statue of St George, carved in wood by Pietro Paola Azzopardi in 1839, the holy relic of the arm of St George, venerated at the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore on the homonymous island in Venice since 1296, will be brought to Gozo on Tuesday for the special festivities.

The request was made by H.L. Mgr Mario Grech, Bishop of Gozo and Dean of the Collegiate Chapter, to Dom Norberto Villa osb, Abbot of Praglia and San Giorgio Maggiore.

The celebrations in Victoria are organised by St George’s Basilica.

The programme for Tuesday evening is as follows:

Solemn Welcome of the Holy Relic of the arm of St George

7.00pm: H.L. Mgr Mario Grech, the Collegiate Chapter and clergy of the basilica welcome the holy relic of the arm of St George at the the crossroads in Republic Street, Victoria.

7.15pm: Pontifical translation of the Relic of St George presided by the Bishop of Gozo, H.L. Mgr Mario Grech, Dean of St George’s, assisted by the Collegiate Chapter and the presbyterium of the Basilica and the parish community. La Stella band accompanies with religious hymns.

7.45pm: Welcoming message by Mgr Archpriest Pawlu Cardona.

8.00pm: Solemn Vigil presided by the Bishop of Gozo, H.L. Mgr Mario Grech, assisted by H.L. Gennadios Zervos, primate of the Metropolos of Italy, a diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate covering Italy and Malta and Can. Simon Godfrey, Chancellor of the Anglican Church of Malta and Gozo.

9.30pm: Ite ad Josef band of Qala plays marches along Republic Street to St George’s Basilica and then participates in the demonstration with the statue of St George by Austin Camilleri, along the streets that surround the Basilica.

The full programme for the Feast of St George are available in Maltese for download here.

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