There are four more summer feasts to enjoy this week, and this time, celebrations also include water sports and a greasy pole!
St Catherine, Zurrieq
One of the oldest towns in Malta, Zurrieq has been a parish since 1436. Located on Malta’s south-western coast, it includes the tiny uninhabited island of Filfla. The current church was built between 1632 and 1658, and features a number of paintings by the celebrated Italian artist Mattia Preti. The titular statue of St Catherine of Alexandria, which will be carried shoulder-high through the streets of the town this Sunday, dates back to 1818.
As with all festas, brass band marches through the streets take place every evening during festa week, culminating in fireworks displays on Friday and Saturday evenings usually starting after 9pm, with mechanised ground fireworks kicking off at around 11:30pm. The boisterous morning march is held on Sunday after morning High Mass, and the procession with the statue starts at around 6:30pm.
St Gregory the Great, Sliema
One of Sliema’s four parishes, the church was built in the 1920s and is tucked away up Norfolk Street just off that section of the long seaside promenade between the 17th century watchtower and Balluta Bay. The traditional festa fireworks are let off from a floating barge in the bay, making for an even more spectacular display.
St Francis of Assisi, Qawra
The popular tourist resort of Qawra boasts a parish church designed by the celebrated local architect Richard England constructed in the mid-1990s, and is also among the parishes celebrating their festa this weekend.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Xlendi (Gozo)
The quaint fishing village of Xlendi is a tourist magnet in the summer months, but its parish festa retains its quintessential charm and traditions. Perched on the cliff side, with its parvis overlooking the beautiful bay, the church is decorated with damask for the celebrations of its patron saint. This being a seaside village, it is only natural that the sea would feature in the celebrations, and what better way to party than with some fun water games, including canoeing and swimming races, zip-wiring across the bay and a surprise game involving wine bottles (!) The village also holds a gostra, a tradition dating back to the early 1800s in which men run up a 65 foot lard-covered wooden pole perched across the bay in a bid to collect one of the flags at its tip. Most, as you can imagine, end up in the water below, empty handed. The festa water games will be held on Sunday 2nd September from 2pm.