The pulpit at the Collegiate Church of St Lawrence

Among the beautiful works of art at the Collegiate Church of St Lawrence in Vittoriosa is without a doubt the artistic pulpit made in 1890. This masterpiece was commissioned by Monsignor Marmara and constructed by Vincent Vassallo on the design of Joseph Soler. The pulpit, made of wood brought over from Constantinople, is a majestic piece of work and truly shows the great skill of Maltese craftsmen of the time.

The pulpit’s panels show theological virtues – namely the cross of faith, the anchor of hope, the cup of charity, the thorns of suffering, the palm of victory and the flower of purity. It also contains four bronze statues representing the church doctors: St Jerome, St Gregory the Great, St Augustine and St John Chrysostom. These statues were designed by Maltese artists and produced by the firm De Poli.

Underneath the pulpit are symbols representing the four evangelists: • The lion of St Mark - which represents strength, courage and faith as witnessed in St Mark. • The angel of St Matthew – man (homo sapiens) depicted as an angel, who symbolises intelligence. St Matthew is considered to be the most intelligent evangelist. • The eagle of St John – which symbolises long-term vision as characteristic of St John’s writings. The ox of St Luke - an animal of great service and sacrifice, Luke was a preacher, a researcher a painter and a physician.

The front panels of the pulpit depict the sacred host and gospel, as well as the sword and trumpet. The lower part symbolises the apostles.

The bronze staircase railings were constructed by Joseph Torpiano while Joseph Gonzi was responsible for operating the lathe.

At that time, there was an ivory cross that adorned the pulpit, donated by Lorenzo Bosco but which sadly disappeared during the last war, after which the church procurator had another installed. The bronze cross was purchased from Venice from the same firm, De Poli, which was responsible for the other statues and symbols on the pulpit.

The marquetry was carried out by Joseph Pace, the brother of the dean of the parish church of St Lawrence. Pace was a very religious man and when he had finished his work on the pulpit, he left Malta to join the community of Trappists in Saint Calistus in Rome.

The first sermon on the pulpit was given in 1894 by Monsignor Marmara, who was then Bishop of the Cathedral of Mdina and a former Canon of Vittoriosa. In his sermon he explained the details of the construction, the symbols and the costs incurred to create the pulpit.

This pulpit is considered to be one of the most beautiful in Europe following those found in the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp, Holland, and the Cathedral of St Michael in Brussels, Belgium.

Today the pulpit is mainly used during the Novena and the solemn Mass on the feast day of St Lawrence.