Saint Ursula: 400th anniversary since the arrival of the statue & relic in Gozo

by Gozo News · October 15, 2014

On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the donation of the reliquary bust of Saint Ursula, Patron Saint of Gozo, by Governor Fra Eugenio Ramirez Maldonado to the Matrix Church within the Cittadella of Gozo, a statue of the saint was installed in a niche of ‘Dar il-Gvernatur’ at the entrance to the town of Victoria.

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 statue was commissioned by the Ministry for Gozo and is the work of sculptor Angelo Agius.

This house has recently been re-located and restored as part of the works on the widening and reconstruction of the access road.

The statue was placed in a niche that exists on the facade of this house which currently houses the offices of NGO ‘Wirt Ghawdex.’ The statue is inspired by the figure of Saint Ursula painted by Giuseppe Hyzler in 1831 in the titular painting on the saint’s altar in the Cathedral of Gozo.

In the meantime, on the initiative of the Sacred Art Commission of the Diocese of Gozo an exhibition on the cult of this saint in Gozo has been set up at the Banca Giuratale in Victoria.

The exhibition includes a number of historic paintings of the saint amongst which a painting of Saint Ursula which was formerly hanging in the Banca Giuratale, the seat of the local administration of the island, the Universitas.

The main exhibit is the reliquary bust which has recently been restored by Heritage Malta on the initiative of the Ministry for Gozo.

Historically, this statue has been placed several times for public veneration at the same Banca Giuratale when the people of Gozo sought the intercession of the saint following the occurrence of earthquakes and other natural calamities.

The exhibition is open from Monday to Friday between 8.00am and 2.30pm and on Saturday and Sunday between 9.00am and noon. The exhibition is open to the public till 26th of October.