Our Country has a great love for Saint Joseph
A year ago I wrote an article about the devotion towards St Joseph in the Carmelite Order. In today’s article we take a glimpse at the cult of St Joseph in various localities in Malta and Gozo.
Following the Virgin Mary, the most popular saint is St Joseph, towards whom the Maltese and Gozitans have a great devotion dating back many centuries. This devotion is strongly evident in the churches, chapels and altars dedicated to the saint. His image is also profoundly venerated, found in these same churches and chapels, streets, niches, village squares and even in private residences. In addition there are a vast number of Confraternities in several of our churches that are devoted to St Joseph. Through the work of these Confraternities the devotion towards St Joseph spread more widely. Furthermore many feasts are held in honour of St Joseph in various churches and parishes around the islands.
In Rabat, Malta we find the Archconfraternity of St Joseph in the church of Saint Mary of Jesus. This is the most ancient Archconfraternity founded before 1508. Here we see a very old statue that was crowned by Archbishop Mons. Gonzi.
Following this is the Fraternity of St Joseph found in the Collegiate Parish Church of St Lawrence in Vittoriosa, founded before 1575 which sadly has hardly any members left.
In 1572 when the Carmelite Friars began to build their church and priory in the new city of Valletta, they founded an altar dedicated to St Joseph. Sixty years later they established a Confraternity in honour of this saint in this same church.
Over time many other Confraternities were established in numerous parish churches and other churches around the country. Unfortunately I must say that many of them have disappeared over time, while others thank God are still going strong.
Tied to these Confraternities are the feasts which over time began to be celebrated in the churches in honor of St Joseph, by virtue of these Confraternities. We also find the titular feasts in five parish churches around Malta and Gozo, which were built and dedicated to him. The churches which have Saint Joseph as their patron Saint are found in Birkirkara (Saint Joseph the worker), Msida, Kalkara, and Manikata, while in Gozo he is the Patron Saint of the Qala Parish church.
In addition to the Parish Church whose titular feasts are in honor of St Joseph, we find other secondary feasts which take place in churches like Hamrun, Kirkop, Żebbuġ, Għaxaq as well as some other locations. In Gozo the secondary feast of St Joseph is celebrated in the Xagħra Parish Church.
It is worth mentioning that in many localities many musical organizations dedicated to St Joseph were established. Over time these helped speed the devotion towards their Patron Saint.
In Malta we also find the Religious Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition which is the only Religious Congregation dedicated to this saint. It was founded in 1845, by the same founder Saint Emily de Vialar.
In our country we also find a large number of institutes, schools and elderly homes, named after St Joseph. In the streets and village squares in Malta and Gozo, we can see several statues and niches portraying the image of this Saint, totalling around 167 statues and niches in Maltese streets and over twenty three in Gozo.
There are also twenty eight streets and alleys named after St Joseph and in Malta and in Gozo there is a village square in front of the Parish church of Qala which takes the name of this Saint. In this same square there is a column with a charming statue of St Joseph.
One can also witness the devotion the Maltese and Gozitans retain through the many plaques and small niches situated on the facade of their homes portraying the image of St Joseph. This is an old tradition that shows our great love and devotion for this saint.
Not only during their lives do locals wish to show their dedication towards this Saint, but also after their demise, as many people wish to have an image of St Joseph placed on their graves.
I’d like to end this article with a small prayer to St Joseph to protect our families so they may continue to cherish the Christian values which they received from their forefathers.