The traditional feast of Saint Anthony the Abbot is being celebrated in Xaghra tomorrow (Sunday). It will start with a Concelebrated Mass at St Anton Church, led by the Bishop of Gozo Mgr Mario Grech. This will be broadcast on RTK Radio and Radio Bambina.

In the morning the programme of external events will be as follows:

10:00 St.Anthony's Statue Procession

10:15 Horses Blessed and horse show

11:00 Dog show

11:00 Reptile Show

11:30 Fun Train ride… price 1.50 euro

13:00 Kids Races… medals given to every kid, trophies to winners.

At the Basilica at 4.00pm everyone is welcome to attend to pray the psalms.

A procession with the statue of St Anthony the Abbot will leave from the Basilica at 4.30pm in the afternoon, accompanied by the Victory band and afterwards there will be the blessing of animals on St Anton Square.

Saint Anthony enjoys great devotion in Xaghra. In fact, he was the first patron saint of Xaghra Parish between 1688 and 1692 before the construction of Xaghra Parish Church which was dedicated to the Nativity of Our Lady.

Saint Anthony is an important figure in the Catholic Church and he is considered as the Father of Monasticism which started the solitary life in the desert for the service of God. He is the protector Saint of animals.

The full programme for the day is shown below in Maltese.

Photographs of the Blessing of pets from 2015 are by Alain Salvary

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