Today, 28th March, the Catholic Church all across the globe is celebrating Maundy Thursday, Malta included.

Many Catholics across the Maltese islands will be flocking to their local churches to take part in the Maundy Thursday service. With such a service come many local traditions that have been celebrated for a long time.

These include the washing of the feet of twelve people from within the local community, symbolising when Jesus washed the feet of the twelve apostles during the Last Supper.

Typically, those whose feet have been washed are given the delicious local delicacy known as ‘il-qaghqa tal-appostli”.

To commemorate such as a day, Malta’s Department of Information shared a set of photos from around 50 years ago, all the way back to the 1970’s of Maundy Thursday being celebrated at Valletta’s Saint Paul Parish church.

The photos show many stylishly dressed men and women as they pray on their knees on this important day.

There’s also a photo of all the qaghaq tal-appostli together with the traditional Maltese hobza, that were going to be given out to the community.

One photo depicts the altar stunningly decorated with many fresh white flowers as during this day many Maltese Catholics carry out the tradition known as the seven visits. This entails visiting and praying at seven different churches while facing the beautifully decorated altars.

What is your favourite Maundy Thursday tradition?