Easter Sunday processions are just as popular in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

and

Gozo Gozo ( ), known in classical antiquity, antiquity as Gaulos, is an island in the Malta#The Maltese archipelago, Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After the Malta Island, island of Malta ...

as the

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

manifestations.

Locations

Every year, 19 processions are organised – 14 in Malta (

Birgu Birgu ( , ), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ('Victorious City'), is an old Fortifications of Birgu, fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory ...

, Cospicua,

Gżira Gżira () is a town in the Eastern Region, Malta, Eastern Region of Malta. It is located between Msida and Sliema, also bordering on Ta' Xbiex. It has a population of 11,699 as of January 2019. The word ''Gżira'' means "island" in Maltese ...

, Mosta,

Qormi Qormi (, , ), also known by its title Città Pinto, is a city in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta, southwest of Valletta in the centre of the island. It has a population of 16,324 (as of March 2018), making it Malta's fifth-la ...

in the two parishes of

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

and St. Sebastian,

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

Senglea Senglea ( ), also known by its title Città Invicta (or Civitas Invicta), is a fortified city in the Port Region of Malta. It is one of the Three Cities in the Grand Harbour area, the other two being Cospicua and Vittoriosa, and has a popu ...

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

, Zebbug,

Żejtun Żejtun ( ) is a town in the Southern Region of Malta, with a population of 11,218 at the end of 2016. Żejtun is traditionally known as Città Beland, a title conferred by the grandmaster of the Order of the Knights of Malta, Ferdinand von ...

) and five in Gozo – together with another one in Fontana (Gozo) the following Sunday and preceded by a short procession at

Baħrija Baħrija is a village in Rabat, Malta, Rabat, Malta, with a low population density. The name Baħrija means ''moth'' in Maltese language, Maltese. It is also known in English as Baħria, of which the Counts Moscati had owned the fiefdom that was gr ...

Easter Saturday Easter Saturday, on the Christian calendar, is the seventh day of Eastertide, being the Saturday of Easter or Bright Week. In the kalendar of Western Christianity it is the last day of Easter Week, sometimes referred to as the Saturday o ...

evening.

History

The processions likely date to the late 16th century. The

Easter procession is organised by the only

Confraternity A confraternity (; ) is generally a Christian voluntary association of laypeople created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Church hierarchy. They are most common among Catholics, Lu ...

of the Risen Christ to exist in the Maltese Islands. This confraternity traces its origin to April 1, 1659, when a sodality was instituted in the Greek (Catholic) church of Valletta through a

Papal Bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

issued by Pope Alexander VII (the former Fabio Chigi, Inquisitor of Malta, 1634–1639). On June 5, 1892, its members were authorised to wear a white habit, a red girdle and a medallion of the Risen Christ, thus becoming a confraternity. On March 7, 1934, Archbishop Maurus Caruana permitted the transfer of this confraternity from the Greek Church to the Church of the Jesuits, also in Valletta, where it still has its seat today. It is traditionally held that the Valletta wooden statue of the Risen Christ (''L-Irxoxt'') is in the Melchiorre Cafà genre which, if correct, would date it to the second half of the 17th century. However, there is no documentation to actually demonstrate the origins of the Valletta procession because many records were destroyed in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when the Greek church was destroyed in air raids.

References

{{reflist Christianity in Malta