The Cathedral of Gozo will be celebrating the 400th anniversary on the 31st of October, since the arrival of the statue and relic of Saint Ursula in Gozo.

The saint who, according to tradition, was a princess-missionary from Brittania, was martyred by the Huns near Cologne, Germany. She was declared patron saint of Gozo on the 6th of October 1620.

The bust of Saint Ursula was acquired by Eugenio-Romirez Maldonado, a knight of Malta from the langue of Léon and Castille, from his home city of Salamanca, Spain. When appointed Governor of Gozo on the 1st of September 1610, he brought the statue and relic with him to Gozo.

He would display the image on the feast day, the 21st of October, at his residence adjacent to the Matrice of Gozo. When recalled to Valletta in August 1613, he took the relic with him back to Malta.

However the Università or Regional Government and the people of Gozo begged Eugenio-Romirez Maldonado to return the statue to the island. He acceded to their wishes the following year and donated the bust to the Matrice, the present Cathedral of Gozo.

For hundreds of years, the bust was taken out in procession three times a year. As a result, it was damaged, restored, and retouched many times.

In January 2014, the statue was taken to the Conservation Department of Heritage Malta in Bighi, Kalkara. The polychrome statue was scientifically analysed in order to better understand and document the following: the original manufacturing technique; the state of conservation; and past interventions.

The restoration was made possible though the intervention of the Ministry for Gozo.

After investigating and documenting the artifact, the statue was thoroughly cleaned from dust and grime deposits. The extensive deposit of wax drops were removed from the gilding by the application of heat and absorbent paper, making sure not to bruise the delicate gold leaf. Abrasions and losses of the statue’s paint and gilding were locally stuccoed and eventually retouched. Retouching was carried out using reversible varnish-based paint and applied with very small brushes. The retouching preserved the aesthetical quality of the current paint and gilding.

The Conservation Department of Heritage Malta has now returned the statue to its original splendour.

Before it is returned to Gozo, the statue and relic is this weekend, being displayed for the veneration of the faithful in the Church of Saint Ursula, adjoining the cloistered nuns of Saint Ursula, in Saint Ursula Street, Valletta.

An exhibition on Saint Ursula is being inaugurated at the Banca Giuratale on her feast day, Tuesday, the 21st of October 2014.

Photo: Frank Bugeja and Anthony Spanjol at the St Ursula Monastery. Courtesy of Gozo Cathedral.

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