Treasures of Faith: Relics and Reliquaries in Malta, 1600-1798

EDGAR VELLA

Relics and Reliquaries in the Diocese of Malta during the Baroque Period 1600–1798

EDGAR VELLA

Relics and Reliquaries in the Diocese of Malta during the Baroque Period 1600–1798

Dedicated to my parents, Joseph and Rose

Published by 6 Strait Street, Valletta, Malta www.midseabooks.com

Author

Edgar Vella

The publisher would like to thank

Photographer

Joe P. Borg Copy-editor

Louis J. Scerri

for their support in the publishing of this book

Design & Layout

Joseph Mizzi/John Busuttil Leaver

Printed at Gutenberg Press, Malta ISBN: 978-99932-7-562-6

Literary Copyright © Edgar Vella, 2016 Editorial Copyright © Midsea Books Ltd, 2016 Photography Copyright © Midsea Books Ltd, 2016 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the previous written permission of the authors and/or rightful owners.

Front cover: A detail of the urn with the relics of St Calcedonius, conserved beneath the main altar of the Manresa chapel in the Archbishop’s Curia Floriana Back cover: A detail of an 18th-century architectural reliquary conserving the rib fragment of St Teresa, Discalced Carmelite Church, Cospicua

Contents

INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................................ ix CHAPTER I THE EVOLUTION OF THE CULT OF RELICS.....................................................................................................

1

The cult of the relics: Origins, history, liturgical, and devotional aspects.............................................. 1

History of the cult and the doctrine of the relics........................................................................................... 2

Relics during the Apostolic and Post-Apostolic period............................................................................... 2

The cult of relics and the influence of the Holy Land.................................................................................. 3

The cult of relics in the East................................................................................................................................ 4

The cult of relics in the West............................................................................................................................... 4

The cult of relics in the Middle Ages................................................................................................................ 5

The Reform Protest................................................................................................................................................ 7

Relics in the Enlightenment................................................................................................................................ 8

Reflections on this historical survey.................................................................................................................. 8

Cult and devotion of saints................................................................................................................................... 10

The merging of the Eucharistic altar and the tombs of the martyrs........................................................ 10

Dedication of churches and consecration of altars....................................................................................... 12

The anthropology of relics................................................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER II ACQUISITION AND PROVENANCE OF RELICS IN THE DIOCESE OF MALTA DURING THE BAROQUE PERIOD.......................................................................................................................... 25

The early interest of the Order of St John in relics........................................................................................ 25

Interest of the parishes and the religious orders in relics in the 17th- and 18th-centuries.................... 25

The inclusion of relics in pastoral visits and their inventories in the Curia archives.......................... 26

Canonical procedures for the authentication of the relics......................................................................... 26

Survey of relics in Malta’s parish churches...................................................................................................... 28 Mdina cathedral............................................................................................................................................ 28

St Paul’s collegiate church, Rabat above St Paul’s Grotto................................................................... 28 THE EVOLUTION OF THE CULT OF RELICS

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Parish of Dingli.............................................................................................................................................. 32

Parish of Safi................................................................................................................................................... 32

Parish of Balzan............................................................................................................................................. 32

Parish of Żebbuġ............................................................................................................................................ 32

Parish of Lija................................................................................................................................................... 35

Valletta: Greek parish church of Our Lady of Damascus.................................................................. 35

Valletta: St Paul Shipwrecked collegiate church................................................................................... 37

Parish of Vittoriosa....................................................................................................................................... 37

Parish of St George, Qormi......................................................................................................................... 37

Parish of Gudja............................................................................................................................................... 37

Parish of Żabbar............................................................................................................................................ 40

Parish of Mosta............................................................................................................................................... 40

The following section refers to churches of the religious Orders within the diocesan parishes..... 41

Franciscan Capuchins of Kalkara............................................................................................................. 41

Jesuits’ church, Valletta................................................................................................................................ 42

St Calcedonius, Floriana............................................................................................................................. 42

Discalced Carmelites, Cospicua................................................................................................................ 44

Benedictine nuns of St Scolastica in Vittoriosa.................................................................................... 44

Dominican priory, Rabat............................................................................................................................. 44

Parish of Kirkop............................................................................................................................................. 44

Parish of Żurrieq............................................................................................................................................ 45 Conclusion................................................................................................................................................................ 45 CHAPTER III THE SOLEMN TRANSLATIONS OF THE HOLY RELICS IN THE DIOCESE OF MALTA DURING THE BAROQUE PERIOD.................................................................... 49

Miraculous effigy of the Crucifix (Item 1)......................................................................................................... 52 Translation of the miraculous effigy of the Holy Cross at Mdina cathedral, 1648................................. 52

Solemn translations of whole groups of relics (Items 2 to 9)...................................................................... 52 The Benegas corpus of relics, 1609................................................................................................................. 52

Ss Acasta and Faustina, Mdina cathedral, 1666.......................................................................................... 56 St Felix and the head of St Costanza, Mdina cathedral, 1678.................................................................... 56 Ss Amicus and Concordia, Mdina cathedral, 1684...................................................................................... 56 The relics of the Vero Ligno, St Thomas, and St Vincent Ferrer, Rabat Dominican priory....................

56 St Fabian and St Sebastian, Mdina Cathedral, 1732................................................................................... 57

St Fidele and St Joseph, Capuchin Friary, Kalkara, 1747........................................................................... 57

Volto Santo group, Vittoriosa, 1753................................................................................................................ 57

Relics related to Jesus Christ (Items 10 to 14)................................................................................................... 59 Ex cuna Salvatoris Nostri Jesu Christi, OFM, Valletta (undated)............................................................ 59 De Vero Ligno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi, OFM, Rabat, 1715.................................................................. 59 De Vero Ligno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi, OFM Conv., Rabat, 1719....................................................... 59 Ex Spina Domini Nostri Jesu Christi, Mdina cathedral, 1728................................................................... 59 De Vero Ligno, Parish of Qrendi, 1741............................................................................................................ 59

Relics related to the Blessed Virgin Mary (Items 15 to 18)............................................................................ 60

Ex Capillis Beatæ Mariæ Virginis, Mdina cathedral, 1715 ........................................................................ 60

Ex Capillis Beatæ Mariæ Virginis, OSA, Valletta, Confraternity

of Our Lady of Consolation, 1725......................................................................................................... 60

Ex Capillis Beatæ Mariæ Virginis, Carmelite priory, Mdina, 1733........................................................... 60 Ex Capillis Beatæ Mariæ Virginis, Parish of Għaxaq (undated).............................................................. 60

Relic related to St Joseph (Item 19)..................................................................................................................... 61 Ex baculo S. Joseph, OFM, Rabat, 1715......................................................................................................... 61 iv

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Corpi Santi (Items 20 to 34).................................................................................................................................. 61 St Publius, martyr, Mdina cathedral, 1667................................................................................................... 61 St Vincent, martyr, Mdina cathedral, 1686.................................................................................................. 61 St Benignus, martyr, Vittoriosa collegiate church, 1726............................................................................. 61 St Liberata, Kalkara Capuchin friary, 1752................................................................................................. 62 St Calcedonius, martyr, Casa Manresa, Floriana, 1753.............................................................................. 63 St Veneranda, Benedictine nunnery of St Scolastica, Vittoriosa, 1756...................................................... 65

St Felicianus, Parish of Żabbar, 1757............................................................................................................. 65 St Felix, Rabat Dominican priory, 1760........................................................................................................ 69 St Benedetta, Capuchin friary, Floriana, 1763............................................................................................. 69

St Innocent, Parish of Mqabba, 1779............................................................................................................. 70 St Victorius, Parish of Naxxar, 1787.............................................................................................................. 70 St Clementina, Parish of Żurrieq, 1788......................................................................................................... 73

St Benedict, Parish of Kirkop, 1791................................................................................................................. 74 St Consolata, Discalced Carmelite friary, Cospicua, 1794......................................................................... 75 St Orade, OFM Conv., Valletta, 1815............................................................................................................. 75

Relics of other saints (Items 35 to 39)................................................................................................................. 76 The armbone of St Paul, St Paul’s collegiate church, Rabat, 1621............................................................. 76

Ex Ossibus Sancti Pauli, St Paul’s collegiate church, Valletta, 1716.......................................................... 76 St Francis Xavier, Carmelite priory, Mdina, 1716........................................................................................ 77 St Benedict, Monastery of St Peter, Mdina, 1718.......................................................................................... 77 St Nicholas, Siġġiewi parish church, 1723.................................................................................................... 77

St Blaise, Żebbuġ, canonical church of the cathedral, 1725........................................................................ 77 St John of the Cross, Discalced Carmelites, Cospicua, 1727....................................................................... 79 St Francis of Assisi, OFM, Valletta, 1733....................................................................................................... 80 Conclusion................................................................................................................................................................ 80 CHAPTER IV THE COMMISSION AND MANUFACTURE OF RELIQUARIES.................................................................. 83

Preparatory designs................................................................................................................................................ 85

Commissions of reliquaries................................................................................................................................. 85

Payments for reliquaries....................................................................................................................................... 87

Marks, inscriptions, and coats of arms............................................................................................................. 90 CHAPTER V THE TYPOLOGY OF RELIQUARIES IN THE DIOCESE OF MALTA........................................................... 95

Reliquaries: Historical aspect and typology.................................................................................................... 95

Type 1: Pendant reliquary..................................................................................................................................... 103

Type 2: Phial reliquary........................................................................................................................................... 103

Type 3: Ostensory reliquary................................................................................................................................. 104

Type 4: Vase reliquary............................................................................................................................................ 108

Type 5: Cruciform reliquary................................................................................................................................ 108

Type 6: Reliquary board........................................................................................................................................ 109

Type 7: Book reliquary........................................................................................................................................... 110

Type 8: Box reliquary............................................................................................................................................. 110

Type 9: Lantern reliquary..................................................................................................................................... 111

Type 10: Urn reliquary........................................................................................................................................... 111

Types 11–13: Anthropomorphic reliquaries ..................................................................................................... 112

Type 11: The arm reliquary................................................................................................................................... 112

Type 12: The bust reliquary.................................................................................................................................. 114

Type 13: The statue reliquary............................................................................................................................... 115 THE EVOLUTION OF THE CULT OF RELICS

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Type 14: The architectural reliquary.................................................................................................................. 116 Type 15: The antependium reliquary................................................................................................................ 117 Type 16: The sprinkler reliquary......................................................................................................................... 117 Type 17: The scannello reliquary.......................................................................................................................... 117 Type 18: The tabernacle reliquary...................................................................................................................... 118 Type 19: The niche reliquary............................................................................................................................... 120 Type 20: The document reliquary………………………………………................................................................ 120 Type 21: The tabella reliquary………………………………………….................................................................... 121

CHAPTER VI PARTICULAR EXAMPLES OF EACH OF THE 21 TYPES OF RELIQUARIES EXTANT IN MALTA.. 123

Type 1: Pendant reliquary..................................................................................................................................... 126

Type 2: Phial reliquary........................................................................................................................................... 131

Type 3: Ostensory reliquary................................................................................................................................. 132

Type 4: Vase reliquary............................................................................................................................................ 150

Type 5: Cruciform reliquary................................................................................................................................ 152

Type 6: Reliquary board........................................................................................................................................ 157

Type 7: Book reliquary........................................................................................................................................... 166

Type 8: Box reliquary............................................................................................................................................. 166

Type 9: Lantern reliquary..................................................................................................................................... 167

Type 10: Urn reliquary........................................................................................................................................... 169

Type 11: Arm reliquary........................................................................................................................................... 175

Type 12: Bust reliquary.......................................................................................................................................... 179

Type 13: Statue reliquary....................................................................................................................................... 181

Type 14: Architectural reliquary......................................................................................................................... 184

Type 15: Sprinkler reliquary................................................................................................................................. 188

Type 16: Antependium reliquary........................................................................................................................ 188

Type 17: Scannello reliquary.................................................................................................................................. 188

Type 18: Tabernacle reliquary............................................................................................................................. 194

Type 19: Niche reliquary........................................................................................................................................ 195

Type 20: Document reliquary.............................................................................................................................. 198

Type 21: Tabella reliquary..................................................................................................................................... 199 CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................................................. 201 APPENDICES

Appendix I: The 1744 inventory of the cathedral church............................................................................. 203

Appendix II: The 1758 inventory of the cathedral oratory........................................................................... 205

Appendix III: A study of the 1767 inventory of the cathedral, listing all donors................................... 205

Appendix IV: Inventory of relics of 12 parishes compiled in 1769.............................................................. 207

Appendix V: Inventory of relics in 17 parishes compiled during the episcopate

of Bishop Sant, 1848–49................................................................................................................................ 209

Appendix VI: Ex Cuna Salvatoris NDJC, OFM, Valletta ............................................................................ 212

Appendix VII: Correspondence of Bailiff Lante............................................................................................ 213

Appendix VIII: Inventory of the Corpo Santo of St Felicianus, Żabbar.................................................. 214

Appendix IX: Income and expenditure for the Corpo Santo of St Consolata....................................... 215 GLOSSARY ................................................................................................................................................................... 221 BIBLIOGRAPHY.............................................................................................................................................................. 223 INDEX OF NAMES AND PLACES ............................................................................................................................ 225

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank first and foremost my supervisors, Revd. Prof. Emmanuel Agius, dean of the Faculty of Theology, and Prof. Mario Buhagiar, former head of the department of History of Art, for their prompt, sharp, and scholarly suggestions throughout all the stages of my work. A word of thanks goes also to Revd. Prof. George Grima for his most valid suggestions.

The research behind this thesis, consisting of a relatively wide survey of the relics and reliquaries from the 200-year Baroque period, could in no way be carried out without the constant help of several friends. Among these, Revd. Mgr Aloysius Deguara, the chapter’s former delegate for the Mdina cathedral, deserves special mention for giving me full access to the Cathedral Treasury. Several parish priests and religious members who gave me permission to examine and view artefacts conserved in the treasuries of their respective institutions also have my deepest gratitude.

I would also like to show my gratitude to various local private collectors who were eager to make their reliquary artefacts available to include in this research.

A particular word of appreciation goes to the archival assistant of the Cathedral Archives, Mr Mario Gauci, and the late Revd. Fr Joseph Busuttil, archivist of the Archbishop’s Curia at Floriana for their invaluable help with the archival material in the two respective archival depositories.

Special thanks go to Revd. Mgr John Azzopardi, my predecessor as curator of the Mdina Cathedral Museum and present curator of the Wignacourt Museum at Rabat, for his constant and most valid advice. Mr Anthony Mangion, former librarian of the University of Malta, deserves my gratitude for being instrumental in indicating important sources of information housed at the University of Malta Library. This book would not have been possible without the dedication and meticulous work of Joe P. Borg, photographer, and Louis J. Scerri, copy editor.

Revd. Dr Jesmond Manicaro and Revd. Dr Paul Sciberras, lecturers at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Malta, proposed pertinent, meticulous, and punctilious suggestions in their respective academic fields of liturgical and Biblical expertise at the writing stage of this research project.

The Metropolitan Chapter Mdina, Archbishop’s Curia Floriana, Cathedral Museum Gozo, Collegiate church of Cospicua, Collegiate church of St Paul, Rabat, Collegiate church of Senglea, St Paul Shipwrecked Collegiate, Valletta, Collegiate church of Vittoriosa, Wignacourt Museum Rabat, St Agatha Church Museum Rabat, All souls church Valletta, Attard parish church, Għargħur parish church, Kirkop parish church, Lija parish church, Luqa parish church, Mosta parish church, Mqabba parish church, Safi parish church, Shrine of Our Lady of THE EVOLUTION OF THE CULT OF RELICS

vii

Mellieha, Siġġiewi parish church, Żabbar parish church, Żebbuġ parish church, Żurrieq parish church, Capuchin churches of Floriana and Kalkara, Discalced Carmelite Priory Cospicua, St Dominic Priory Rabat, Monastery of St Catherine Valletta, Monastery of St Margaret Cospicua, Monastery of St Peter Mdina, Confraternity of the Crucifix Valletta, Revd. S. Attard, Mr and Mrs G. Attard, Mr J. Galea Naudi, Mr R. Grech, Mr R. Said, Mr C. Scerri, Dr C. Vella Zarb, and Mr J. Zammit.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Archival AAC Archivium Archiconfraternitatis S. Josephi, Rabat AACM Archivium Carmelitanorum Mdina AAM Archivium Archiepiscopale Melitense ACDC Archivium Carmelitanorum Discalceatorum Cospicuæ ACM Archivium Ecclesiæ Cathedralis Melitensis ADR Archivium Dominicorum Rabati AIM Archivium Inquisitionis Melitensis AO Acta Originalia AOM Archives of the Order of Malta AP Archivia Parœcalia ASA Archivium SanctæAgathæ CEM Curia Episcopalis Melitensis Misc. Miscellanea MS Manuscript NLM National Library Malta RM Registrum Mandatorum T Tomo Biblical Ac Acts of the Apostles Co Corinthians Eph Ephesians Gen Genesis Is Isaiah Jn John K Kings Lk Luke Mk Mark Mt Matthew Rev Revelation

Other

Scudi symbol

viii

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Introduction

Since the first centuries of Christianity, the cult of saints, the veneration of their relics, and the manufacture of reliquaries have played an important role in the liturgical celebrations of the Church. The story of relics and reliquaries is a 2000-year historical epoch of faith, persecution, and hope reflected in some of the most beautiful and sometimes little-known works of art ever made. The veneration of relics and eventually their preservation in reliquaries have been an initiative in which the faithful have engaged themselves in a restless activity teeming with reverence and devotion.

This phenomenon has baffled some and consoled others; moreover, relics were a turning point in many senses.

The use of relics is the result of a natural affection or instinctive reverence, a reverence towards the remains of the dead as well as the conservation of their personal belongings, a feeling which is both natural and instinctive.

The ancient Christian cult of the relics and the rich and enthralling works of art created to house them is a witness to the need of man to be in contact with the beyond. The art of the reliquary is an art of boxes, caskets, and receptacles housing mysteries. An art of amulets and pendants of elaborate goldsmiths’ and jewellers’ creations made to hold the mortal remnants of the saints and other objects once believed to have touched Jesus Christ himself, the Blessed Virgin, or the saints. It is an art of rich things formed to house the poorest and the most poignant memorials of men and women remembered as holy; bones, locks of hair, and scraps of the blood-stained garments they once wore during the torments of their martyrdom. Yet, more perhaps than any other Christian art-form, the study of the relics is something neglected and under-appreciated, because it has traditionally been regarded both in Protestant orders and across broad swathes of the modern secular world, with fastidious and morbid distrust.

The bodies and bones of the martyrs were especially precious to the early Christians because they had so little else on which to establish and spread their faith. Long into the middle ages many reliquaries would continue to resemble miniaturized tombs into which the devout might reach out to touch the container housing the saint’s relics. Such objects served not only as a focus for veneration, but were also held to possess miraculous and often healing powers. This phenomenon evolved through the centuries where individuals and whole communities engaged themselves in a frantic activity to acquire, transport, and eventually create magnificent reliquaries venerated in shrines and churches all over the Christian world.

For many years the theme on relics and reliquaries has captured my attention and the interest on these sacred objects d’art has compelled me to seek more information on these fine and curious artefacts. My first contribution towards this field of art took place in 1995 when I contributed in mounting an exhibition entitled: ‘Select Artistic Reliquaries in the Diocese of Malta’ held at the Cathedral Museum, Mdina. In this exhibition were presented a THE EVOLUTION OF THE CULT OF RELICS

ix

very interesting and eclectic collection of 63 reliquaries from different parishes, ecclesiastic entities, and private collections.

Unlike the relics and reliquaries of the Order of St John in Malta, on which there is a lot more information written by authors as Mgr Isidoro Formosa Montalto (1852–1931) and, more recently, Charles Oman (1860–1946), David Boswell, and Mario Buhagiar, a comprehensive survey on relics and reliquaries in the diocese of Malta has remained a desideratum. Although Malta is very fertile in this field as in other works of art, a vacuum could be felt in this regard.

The study on relics and reliquaries in Malta has been sporadically approached in individual articles and essays but concerning only particular relics and reliquaries conserved in some parishes. Since no general analysis has been treated on this theme, it was appropriate to provide a wider spectrum of the presence of relics and reliquaries in the diocese of Malta during the Baroque period.

This book seeks to unfold the evolution of the cult of relics, the historical aspect, and the development of liturgical celebrations. Reference is made to the teaching of the Church through the contribution of the Fathers of the Church and later writers.

The anthropology of relics leads to a closer understanding of the need of the faithful to reach out for divine protection through the intercession of the saints. The imploration to the saints by the early Christians compelled them to seek refuge by being buried close to their tombs, thus feeling assured that the nearer to the saints in burial, the nearer to them they would be in the kingdom of heaven. The anthropology of relics and the popular devotions of the Maltese can be seen with reference to documented facts of healings and prodigies with the intercession of the saints through their relics. Other popular pieties are traced with reference to some local communities participating in particular rituals which are still practised today.

This study analyses the provenance, acquisition, and authentication of relics brought mainly from Rome, as well as the local ecclesiastical procedures allowing these relics to be exposed for public veneration. Here we witness to the great activity of the churches and the faithful to obtain as many relics as possible and the efforts of various personalities who were instrumental in importing several important relics to Malta.

These relics were honoured with liturgical celebrations and extravagant solemn translations. This book will document ecclesiastical procedures with regards to the rubrics and ceremonial details in these para-liturgical celebrations so that the reader can understand better the great fervour with which these solemn translations were organized. During these festivities, some of which lasted over a week, the churches were fully dressed with red damask, flowers, and numerous candles rendering the sight a blaze of glory. The streets of the towns involved were embellished as on titular festivities with crowds of people enjoying the colourful and noisy celebrations complemented with the pealing of church bells, musical instruments accompanied by choir-singers, and firework displays. These mega-celebrations focused around the Baroque feretories hosting the relics of the saint while being carried in procession under red damask canopies followed by long lines of participants, each performing a particular duty. These processions passed under richly decorated triumphal arches installed for the occasion, stopping at various intervals in front of altars erected in the streets adorned with festoons of laurel and flowers. Banners, large inscriptions with well-written Latin verses honouring the particular saint were fixed in various places and holy cards used to be printed and distributed. The social activity during these festivities of devotion, merriment, and joy are rooted in the culture of the Maltese and is strongly felt today in the local religious feasts dedicated to the patron saints whose relics, along with the titular statues, remain the main protagonists.

This book will present an analysis of all the relics documented in the inventories of the cathedral, ecclesiastical entities, and other ecclesiastical archives in Baroque Malta. This survey on relics and reliquaries treats the welldocumented relics as well as analysing particular cherished reliquaries. By listing all the relics of the Baroque era, it gives a clear picture of this great patrimony treasured in our parishes.

Local parishes and other Church entities eagerly commissioned artistic reliquaries to conserve the holy relics with dignity. Reliquaries were manufactured in different materials and in various shapes, which will be made clear from the analysis of the different typologies of reliquaries extant in Malta and, eventually, their appreciation. The author has identified 21 different typologies of reliquaries, ranging from pendant to cruciform, from urn to phial, from anthropomorphic to vase, and so on, while the ostensory reliquary remained as the most common and the predominating example of local reliquary collections. With great satisfaction, the author was able to trace a long x

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lost tabernacle reliquary previously housed in Żurrieq and which was eventually restored to its original place.

Another find was the ink-and-wash bozzetto, from a private collection, used for the Staurotheca of the collegiate church of Cospicua and the confraternity of the Crucifix in Valletta, both by the silversmith Francesco Assenza. He also confirmed that a Bohemian eighteenth-century phial reliquary, which was recently exhibited as a scent bottle converted into a reliquary, comparing it to an identical artefact conserved in the church of St Agatha in Florence.

Comprehensive information complements this research with thorough data of each and every of these different types of reliquaries. This exercise gives a more complete picture of the great patrimony of these treasures, where the sacred and the profane are intertwined in these wonderful treasures of faith in Malta.In conformity with the title, there are only sporadic and inevitable reference to relics extant on the island before 1600 and after 1798. One must, however, point out that the number of relics in Malta before 1600 was rather small, whereas after 1798 our parishes and churches including those of the religious continued to indulge in acquiring relics.

In conformity with the title, this book is limited to the study to relics and reliquaries in the diocese of Malta, excluding the churches of Gozo.

Although several hundreds of relics are discussed, it was outside the present parameters to compile a complete list of relics and reliquaries during the period 1600–1798. The research was limited to the more important collections and individual relics. This means that a number of old relics in our diocese are not listed.

The Order of St John was a catalyst in the acquisition of relics in Malta. A good number of relics were brought over to Malta after 1530, when the knights settled here, and the activity continued till the end of their stay in 1798.

Regarding the relics of St John’s conventual church and those of some other churches of the Order, abundant material has already been published (references are quoted in the bibliography). An exception has been made regarding the earliest documented substantial collection brought over to Malta by the Spanish hermit Juan Benegas de Cordoba in 1608 for St Paul’s Grotto, a church of the Order. In 1961, St Publius church and the underlying grotto became part of the diocese of Malta.

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Index of Names and Places

Abbundantia, saint, 14 Abel, Martino, benefactor, 214 Abela, Felice, carpenter, 214 Abela Martino, benefactor, 216 Abruzzo, 7 Acasta, saint, 28, 51, 56, 203, 207 Adaucta, saint, 14 Adrianus, saint, 14, 28 Agatha, saint, vii, viii, xi, 17, 52, 54, 87, 92, 103, 107, 114, 115, 124, 131, 145, 148, 180 Aiutante Grech del Castello S. Angelo, 216 Albergato Giovanni, knight benefactor, 215 Albert of Trapani, saint, 17, 117 Alexander VII, pope, 28, 206 Alfano, Vincenzo, canon, 72 Algardi Alessandro, sculptor, 81 Aloysius, Conzaga, saint, 117, 124, 127, 136, 188 Alpheran de Bussan, Paul, bishop, 14, 21, 26, 32, 33, 35, 41, 42, 45, 59, 64, 85, 88, 91, 99, 101, 118, 127, 130, 132, 142, 203, 204, 206 Amalfi, 7 Amaseno (Frosinone, Italy), 2 Amata, saint, 14 Ambrose, saint, 4, 6 Amico, saint, 203, 206, 207 Andrew, saint, 7, 35, 54, 85, 90, 123 Aniceto, saint, 29, 103, 130 Anthony of Padua, doctor of the Church, 12 Antonio Ruffo, inquisitor, 28, 35, 37, 44, 45, 49, 59, 60, 61, 85, 86, 90, 91, 132, 142, 203, 206, 207 Antonius Pius, emperor, 81 Apap Vassallo Andrea, canon, 205 Archbishop’s Curia, Floriana, 14, 26, 42, 44, 45, 49, 63, 109, 110, 112, 121, 124, 146, 163, 190 Arnaud, Francesco, silversmith, 92 Arpa, Francesco, silversmith, 92 Arrighi, Antonio, sculptor, 121 Asciak, Marc Antonio, surgeon on the galleys of St John, 54 Asclepiedius, prefect, 65 Assenza Francesco, silversmith, 24, 85, 92, 95, 146, 147 Attard Parish church, vii, 54, 92, 124, 126, 127, 144 Augustine, saint, 15, 22, 95 Aurelius, saint, 28, 88, 115 Auriol altar, 11 Azzopardi, Angelo, parish priest, 208

Azzopardi, Dominican preacher, 69 Azzopardi, Francesco, maestro di cappella, 73 Azzopardi, Francesco, parish priest, 74, 75 Azzopardi, Francesco, priest, 96 Azzopardi, Gaspare, canon, 205 Azzopardi, Giuseppe, procurator, 208 Azzopardi, Giuseppe Marco, parish priest, 77, 79 Azzopardi, Giuseppe Matteo, canon, 12, 28, 29, 33, 35, 37, 45, 49, 52, 60, 61, 85, 206, 207 Azzopardi, Isidoro, canon, 77 Azzopart, Giacchi, transporter, 216, 220 Azzopart, Gioacchino, merchant, 217 Azzupard, Erasmo, gilder, 165 Balaguer Camarasa Michele Giovanni, bishop, 52, 213 Baldwin II, emperor, 6 Balsani, Giovanni Battista, canon, 79, 80 Balzan, Giovanni, dean of the Cathedral, 37 Balzan, Giovanni, priest, 216 Balzan, 32, 211 Barbara Giovanni Maria, parish priest, 33 Barbara Gregorio, parish priest, 33 Barbara, saint, 21, 22, 32, 33, 41, 42, 115, 153, 175, 222 Bari, Basilica of St Nicholas, 121, 224 Baron Durelle, benefactor, ix, 217 Bartholomew, saint, 54, 73 Bartilo, Giuseppe, benefactor, ix, 219 Basil of Caesarea, saint, 4 Basilio, traditional figure, 123, 139 Benedetta, saint, 51, 68, 69, 213, 214 Benedetto, saint, 37, 47, 91, 93, 203, 204, 207, 210 Benedict XIV, pope, 6, 40, 42, 63, 64, 65, 213 Benedict, saint, 26, 28, 44, 51, 56, 59, 74, 75, 77, 92 Benegas de Cordoba Juan, Spanish hermit, 29, 32, 51, 52, 54, 76, 85, 103, 109, 110, 113, 114, 128, 130, 153, 164, 175, 176, 179, 180 Benignus, saint, 51, 61, 62, 112 Bernini Gian Lorenzo, 9 Berti, Giacomo, priest, 59 Biagio, saint, 133 Bir Miftuħ, 74 Birkirkara, 47, 73, 75, 87, 92, 208 Blaise, saint, 17, 51, 56, 77, 79, 107, 11, 176, 206, 209 Bologna, Carolus, parish priest, 37 Bonavia, Giuseppe, master of ceremonies, 73 Bonavia, Matteo, ingeniere, 76

INDEX 225

Bonavita, Ignatio Saverio, chancellor, 33 Bonello, Calcedonio, notary, 205 Bonnici, B., Jesuit, 120 Bonnici, Carlo, canon, 207 Bonnici, Michele, archdeacon, 61 Bonnici, Salvatrore, mayor, 73 Borg Filippo, merchant, 217 Borg Gio Carlo, participant, 67 Borg Giuseppe, parish priest, 32 Borg Martin, Discalced Carmelite, 44 Borg Pasquale, lawyer and judge, 71 Bormu Giovanni, benefactor, 216 Borromeo, Charles, saint, 117 Bosio, Antonio, 8 Brandes Michele, silversmith, 35, 88, 92, 104, 135, 136 Britto, bailiff, benefactor, 215 Bruno, Giovanni, medical doctor, 19 Buddha, 1 Bueno, Luca, bishop, 14, 28, 56, 85, 203, 206, 207 Bugeja ,Samuel, artist/restorer, 81 Buhagiar Simon, priest, 33 Burmula, 216, 217, 218 Busietta Guliermo, maestro/artigiano, 217, 227 Cachia. Giuseppe, priest, 74, 75 Cachia Gorda, Maria, benefactress, 219 Cafà, Melchiorre, sculptor, 196 Cagliares, Balthassare, bishop, 52, 88, 91, 109, 152 Cagliares, Beatrice, noble benefactress, 50 Cajetan of Thiene, saint, 87 Calcedonius, saint, 19, 42, 44, 49, 51, 63, 64, 70, 71, 114, 169, 213, 222, 223 Calleja, Gio Carlo, canon, 206, 207 Callus, Giuseppe, notary, 33 Calvin, John, 7 Camenzuli, Ferdinando, procurator, 87 Camilleri, Giuseppe, parish priest, 75 Camilleri, Lazzaro, Jesuit, 81 Camilleri, Pietro, 67 Camilleri, Salvatore, goldsmith, 87 Camilleri Victor, MSSP, 103, 115 Candido, saint, 8 Candito, Francesco, gilder, 220 Cannataci, Saverio, silversmith, 101, 108, 111 Cannaves, Giacomo, bishop, 37, 42, 49, 77, 85, 112, 115, 199, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207

Capreci, Vincenzo, archbishop of Thiene, 42 Caraffa, Ottavio, cardinal, 28 Caravaglio, Calli, benefactor, 215 Caria, aiutente della galera, 219 Carpegna, Giulio, inquisitor, 37 Carpineo, cardinal, 32 Caruana, Carmelo, parish priest, 102, 208 Caruana, Giacobozzo, benefactor, 216 Caruana, Giuseppe, silversmith, 92 Caruana, Maria (detta Bittia) benefactress, 216 Casha, Calcedonia, benefactress, 216 Cassar, Gio Carlo, silversmith, 91, 92 Cassar, Giuseppe, priest, 74 Cassia Dorell, Elizabetta, marchioness, 40 Casisi, Francesco, sculptor, 88 Castelletti, Ludovico Maria, canon, 77, 204, 207 Castelletti, baron, 99 Cathedral Museum, 4, 5, 12, 19, 77, 80, 109, 110, 123, 124, 153, 166, 169, 176, 198, 199, 205, 223, 224 Cathedral of Clermont, 114 Cathedral of Gozo, 4, 114, 206 Catherine of Alexandria, saint, 33, 45, 77, 88, 105, 108, 123, 136, 174, 182, 196, 222 Cauchi, Giovanni Antonio, archdeacon, 28, 59, 204 Cauchi, Tomaso, canon, 61 Cavallini, Pietro, sculptor, 29, 153, 156 Cecilia, saint, 54 Cesis, Michel Angelo, 32 Chasa Salvatore, priest, 215 Chircop Muscat, Lorenzo, priest, 74 Church of Il Gesù Nuovo, Naples, 114 Church of St Agatha, Florence, 124 Church of St Augustine, Valletta, 17, 60, 91 Church of St Margaret, Cospicua, 65, 66, 90, 91, 115, 142, 122, 190 Church of St Mary Magdalene, Rabat, 32, 77, 117 Clement, saint, 26, 150, 172, 196 Clementina, saint, 51, 73, 74, 209 Cocco Palmieri, Davide, bishop, 14, 49, 121, 172, 202, 213 Collegium Melitense, 120 Cologne, 5, 7 Colombus, Christopher, 8 Concordia, saint, 28, 51, 56, 203, 206, 207 Consolata, saint, 51, 75, 87, 102, 209, 215, 216, 220 Constans, saint, 14 Constantina, 5 Constantinople, 4, 5, 6, 7, 166 Conti Giacomo, 123 Conventual Church of St John, Valletta, 29, 37, 85, 95, 121, 167 Conzaga, Aloysius, saint, 103, 117, 121, 124, 131, 136, 188, 209, Conzaga Ferdinand, duke of mantova, 32, 76, 113 Cosmas, saint, 90 Cospicua Parish church, 17, 44, 45, 47, 51, 66, 78, 79, 87, 90, 91, 92, 99, 109, 114, 117, 120, 121, 124, 126, 136, 142, 147, 150, 172, 186, 187, 188, 190 Costanza, saint, 28, 206, 207 Costanzo, Domina Pulcheria, 32 Council of Trent, 201 Crispi, Antonio, benefactor, 215 Crispiniano, saint, 207, 209 Crispino, saint, 207, 209 Cubelles Domenico, bishop, 99, 121, 133, 152, 176, 203, 206 Cumbo, Isidoro, 52 Cumbo, Ugolino Tomaso, knight, 40 Cutajar, Vittorio, parish priest, 75 Da Petralia Innocenzo, friar, 52 Dal Calambro Francesco, priest, 216 Dal Pozzo Bartolomeo, fra, 54 Dalli, di, Ludivico, benefactor, 215 Damian, saint, 90 De Balzano, Signor, 37 Dei Doni church, 60 De Martino, Felix Maria, capuchin, 41 De Martino, Ludovico, (detto Sacci-Pintu) benefactor, 216 De Nicolais, Giovanni Francesco, archbishop of

Myra, 37 De Piro, Giuseppe, procurator, 115, 180 De Rohan, Emanuel, grandmaster, 21, 35, 40, 72, 73, 74, 127, 136, 145, 155 Debor, bailiff, benefactor, 215 Decelis, Michele, priest/procurator, 70 Decelis, Pietro, juror, 73, 81 Decos, Michele, participant, 67 dei Conti Sant, Publius Maria, bishop, 26 Delicata Pietro, parish priest, 81 Depan, bailiff, benefactor, 215 Desiderius, saint, 14 Di Bartolomeo, Raimondo, prior, 219 Di Biagi Giuseppe, (ditto Basili), 216 Di Lauron, benefactress, 216 Di Maggi, benefactors, 216 Dimech Felice, artisan, 87 Dimech, Michaelangelo, canon, 73 Dingli, Nicola, participant, 67 Dingli Parish church, 32 Diocesan Museum of Monreale, 114 Discalced Carmelite priory Cospicua, viii, 9, 17, 23, 44, 45, 47, 49, 51, 75, 78, 80, 87, 90, 92, 102, 114, 116, 117, 120, 121, 126, 155, 181, 187, 188, 190 Di Nardo, Domenico, sculptor, 114 Dominic, saint, 42, 51, 56, 91 Don Lorenzo, chaplain, 74 Donatus, saint, 32, 113 Dorante Nazio, marble-cutter, 220 Dorel Peter Paul participant, 67 Duomo of Florence, 149 Duomo of Turin, 6 Duranti, Antonio, maestro marmista, 73 Dusina Pietro, inquisitor and apostolic delegate, 25 Egeria, pilgrim, 3, 22 Elijah, 9 Elisha, 9, 10 Ellul, Joseph, medical doctor, 90 Eustorgio, saint, 7 Fabian, saint, 51, 57 Fagiolo, Felice, carpenter, 219 Falson, Domenico, master of ceremonies, 49, 52, 57, 58, 59, 61, 65, 81, 213 Falzon, Gio Francesco, canon, 85 Falzon, Giovanni Battista, 66 Famucelli Ludivico, canon, 28, 49, 56, 81, 203, 222 Farrugia, Jimmy, medical doctor and silver connoisseur, 91, 199 Farrugia Maria, benefactress, 102 Farrugia Michelangelo, notary, 102 Faustina, saint, 28, 51, 56, 203, 207, 209 Favray, Antoine, artist, 17, 64 Fedele, saint, 51, 108, 151, 207 Frederick I, Barbarossa, 7 Felice Giovanni Luigi, priest, 41 Felice Pietro, maestro, 87, 88 Feliciano, saint, 102, 214, 208 Felicissima, saint, 14 Felix, saint, 14, 19, 28, 32, 44, 51, 56, 69, 87, 182, 222 Fenech, Aloysio, silversmith, 92 Fenech, Balthassare, benefactor, 41 Fenech, Michele, benefactor, 216 Fenech, Natalis, priest, 91 Fenech, Nicola, benefactor, 215 Ferdinand, Franciscan friar, 81 Fernandes, Gioacchino, viceroy of Sicily, 33 Ferreri Vincent, saint, 51, 56 Fiteni George, parish priest, 70, 71, 72, 73, 81 Floriana Manresa church, 42, 44, 110, 112, 124, 163, 172, 190 Florida, saint, 14 Fortunato, saint, 204 Fossanova, 8 Fournier, Giorgio, participant, 67 Fra Gaetano, Discalced Carmelite, 216 Fra Gio Paolo, Discalced Carmelite, 75 Fra Giuseppangelo di San Chircho, discalced Carmelite lay brother, 75, 217 Fra Puplio, discalced Carmelite, 216, 217

226

Francis Borgia, saint, 163 Francis de Paul, saint, 108, 126, 141 Francis of Assisi, saint, 51, 80 Francis Xavier, saint, 32, 51, 64, 66, 77, 88, 130, 177, 179 Franciscan Minors Rabat, 21, 59 Gafà, Orazio, parish priest, 73 Galea Giuseppe, carpenter, 87 Gallarate Scotti Gio Filippo, inquisitor, 74 Gallone Giovanni Battista, sculptor, 114, 180 Garagona, Bartolomeo, artist, 52 Gargallo ,Tomaso, bishop, 50, 54 Garsin, Gaspare, canon, 72, 207 Gatt, Giovanni, blacksmith, 219 Gatt, Michele, gilder, 73 Gauci, Paolo Ignazio, count, 67 Generosus, saint, 14 Geneve, 7 George, saint, 37, 82, 114, 180, 201, 202 Germany, 7 Geremia, saint, 7 Gervasius, saint, 4 Għargħur parish church, 71, 81, 110, 120, 193 Għaxiaq parish church, 23, 60 Ghigi, Flavio, cardinal, 28 Giammalva, Paolo Vittorio, notary, 33 Giovanni Nepomuceno, saint, 121, 199, 207 Giusto, Previo, 2 Gori-Mancini, Gaspare, bishop, 45 Gourgion Adriano, canon, 85 Gourgion Pietro, canon, 61, 207 Gozo, 19, 50 Gravina, Don, knight, 33 Grech, Francesco Vincenzo, priest/artist, 87 Grech, Francesco, priest, 219 Grech, Francis, parish priest, 81 Grech, Giovanni Battista, priest, 71 Grech, Giovanni, chancellor, 87 Grech, Giovanni, notary, 85 Grech, Giovanni, printer, 219 Grech, Giuseppe, Capuchin friar and carpenter, 96 Grech, Pietro Paolo, canon, 57 Grech, Vincenzo, Dominican, 69 Greeks’ Gate, 54 Gregory III, pope, Gregory of Nazianzum, saint, 4, 22 Gregory of Nyssa, saint, 3, 4 Gregory the Great, saint, 4, 22, 23 Grillett, Gio Mattia, canon, 205 Grima, Giuseppe, surgeon, 37, 71, 72 Grioli, Caterina, nun, 102, 208, 214, 215 Gudja parish church, 37, 40, 92, 208 Guttenberg, Wolfgang, knight, 50 Herod Agrippa, king, 3 Hophel, 3 Ignatius of Loyola, saint, 42, 114, 120, 163, 179, 198 Inguanez, Marc’Antonio, baron, 67 Innocent, saint, 14, 51, 70, 102, 151, 184, 190, 196, 203, 204, 206, 210 Innocent VIII, pope, 6 Iucundus, saint, 190 Jacobo da Varagine, 7 James of Alphaeus, saint, 3 James the Major, saint, 3, 113 Januarius, saint, 2, 114, 22 Jesuits’ church Seville Spain, 117, 188 Joachim, saint, 72, 117, 205, 209, 210 John of God, saint, 150 John of the Cross, saint, 44, 45, 47, 51, 78, 79, 108, 123, 141 John the Baptist, saint, 8, 54, 126 John the Evangelist, saint, 33, 35, 57, 70, 88 Joseph II, emperor, 8 Joseph of Arimathea, 2 Joseph, saint, 9, 21, 23, 50, 51, 57, 61, 88, 120, 121, 136, 202, 209, 210, 211, 212 Justin, saint, 14, 114, 177, 179

TREASURES OF FAITH

Kalkara Capuchin’s church, 41, 51, 57, 62 Kao Tsu, emperor, 1 Kirkop parish, 44, 45, 49, 51, 74, 81 La Corte Paias Salvatore, priest/sculptor, 74, 87, 216, 217, 218 La Porta Michele, carpenter, 88 Labini, Vincenzo, bishop, 40, 41, 45, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 118, 121, 127, 151, 183, 206 Laferla, Emanuele, printer, 93 Laferla, Saverio, sculptor, 118 Lante, Antonio, inquisitor, 207 Lante delle Rovere, bailiff, 70, 213 Lateran Basilica, 2, 8, 23 Lawrence, saint, 2, 29, 37, 51, 57, 61, 62, 70, 103, 113, 116, 126, 130, 151, 157, 172, 185, 186 Lebrun, Giovanni, silversmith, 92 Leo IV, pope, 95 Leocata Hieronimus, vicar general Dominicans, 42 Leriberti Nicolò, abbè, 207 Lija parish church, 14, 17, 35, 37, 45,85, 88, 105, 107, 134, 143, 192 Liberata, saint, 8, 41, 42, 52, 62, 209, 210 Liborius, saint, 17 Lilinius, saint, 35 Lonofrore Vincenzo, wood carver, 220 Louis IX, saint, 6 Luca Bueno, bishop, 14, 28, 56, 85, 203, 206 Lucius, saint, 32, 153 Lucy, saint, 7, 17, 114, 115, 180 Luke, saint, 49, 50, 54, 80 Luqa parish church, 90, 91, 92 Madiona, Saverio, benefactor, 216 Magi, Enrico, Medical doctor, 19 Magi, 7, 9 Magna Curia Castellaniæ, 224 Magri, Salvatore, priest/procurator, 118 Magro, Angelo, maestro della dogana, 216, 217 Magro, Salvatore, priest, 40 Mamo, Cleardo, parish priest, 60 Mamo, Gian Luca, notary, 52 Mancinforte, Giovanni, inquisitor, 70 Mangion, Nicola, priest, 74 Manno, Vincenzo, artist, 87 Marchesi, Saverio, count, 215 Maria Maddalena de’ Pazzi, saint, 108, 123, 163, 141, 211, 212 Marquis Mondolfo, benefactor, 217 Marsiglia, Andrea, canon, 60 Martin, Franciscan friar, 44 Martin, saint, 90, 150 Mary Magdalene, saint, 32, 57, 77, 108, 117, 123, 124, 141, 153 Massa Callus, Giuseppe, priest, 44, 74 Massa Pietro, silversmith, 85 Master Guardian Schembri, 76 Mastro Giovanni, printer, 217, 219 Mastro Ignazio, 220 Matthew, saint, 54, 65 Mattia di San Francesco, general, 44 Mauritius, emperor, 5 Maximus, saint, 12 Mdina Cathedral/Treasury, 12, 14, 25, 26, 28, 49, 50, 51, 52, 56, 57, 59, 60, 61, 87, 88, 91, 96, 99, 101, 103, 104, 107, 109, 110, 112, 113, 116, 120, 121, 123, 126, 128, 130, 131, 132, 133, 135, 152, 153, 166, 167, 169, 172, 176, 184, 190, 198, 199, 203, 205, 223 Mehmed II, sultan, 6 Meli, Saverio, silversmith, 92, 155 Mellieħa, 32, 35, 49, 50, 83, 209 Mendes Vascancellos Luis, Grand Master, 26, 28, 203, 207 Menville, Albino, grand prior, 37 Menvile, Raimondo, grand prior, 74 Mercieca, Joseph, archbishop emeritus, 121 Mġarr, 9 Micallef, Giuseppe, silversmith, 92, 136 Micallef, Giuseppe, parish priest, 71, 81 Micallef, Salvatore, priest, 143 Mifsud, Giuseppa, servant, 102

Mifsud, Giuseppe, dominican, 44, 69 Mifsud, Saverio, inquisitor’s secretary, 66 Molina, Michele Gerolamo, bishop, 28, 56, 112, 121, 172, 202, 203, 204, 206, 207, 213, 222 Mollo, Antonio, silversmith, 114, 179 Monastero della Maddalena, 216 Monastero di Santa Scolastica, 37, 44, 59, 61, 62, 65, 133, 184, 216, Mondion, Francoise, architect, 93 Montagna, Pasquale, capo maestro, 87, 88 Monte della Pietà, 215 Montemagnani, Giovanni, canon, 28, 61 Mosta parish church, 40, 41, 92, 115, 208 Mqabba, 17, 26, 51, 70, 81, 102 Muscat, Antonio, priest, 40, 214 Muscat, Gio Carlo, canon, 203, 204, 206, 207 Muscat, Gio Filippo, canon, 203, 206, 207 Muscat, Giuseppe, master of ceremonies, 49 Muscat, Saverio, jeweller, 102 Muscati, Giuseppe, 87 Naples (Italy), 2, 3, 32, 52, 54, 85 Naxxar parish church, 9, 11, 14, 17, 23, 49, 51, 70, 71, 72, 73, 81, 91, 92, 120, 208 Negroponte Innocent, capuchin, 41 Nicholas of Bari, saint, 74, 77, 103, 139 Nicolaus, viceroy of Sicily, 50 Notre Dame de Paris, 6 Ompale, bailiff, benefactor, 215 Onophrius a San Jacobo, discalced Carmelite, 44 Orade, saint, 51, 75, 76 Order of St John, 25, 26, 28, 33, 52, 54, 93, 117, 136, 186 Orland, Giovanni, benefactor, 216 Ospidagliera del Ott, benefactress, 216 Pace, Giuseppe, priest, 74 Pacheco, Juan Gaspar Bapista Fernando, Marquis de Vilhena, 32 Paciaudi, writer, 166 Pacifico, saint, 210 Palladius, bishop, 23 Palmier, Vincenzo, benefactor, 215 Passari. Francis Xavier, 32 Patita, Lorenzo, benefactor, 216 Paul V, pope, 29, 54, 103, 109, 130, 133, 221 Paul, saint, 29, 32, 37, 45, 51, 54, 60, 64, 67, 69, 72, 76, 77, 85, 87, 88, 90, 92, 96, 99, 101, 103, 108, 109, 111, 113, 114, 118, 120, 123, 124, 126, 130, 132, 134, 136, 137, 141, 143, 145, 150, 153, 156, 165, 166, 168, 175, 176, 179, 180, 184, 201, 201, 202, 205, 206, 207 Pellerano, Giovanni, bishop, 45, 47, 70, 118, 120, 121, 124, 147, 153, 159, 160 Perdon, Carlo, medical doctor, 19 Perellos, Ramon, Grand Master, 21, 33, 179 Peter, saint, 3, 8, 9, 10, 22, 28, 29, 32, 54, 69, 76, 77, 85, 88, 99, 101, 103, 114, 130, 132, 136, 168, 201, 206, 207 Petralia, Innocenzo, franciscan friar, 52, 111 Philip Neri, saint, 74, 75, 203, 204, 208, 209, 210 Philip of Agira, 32, 33, 51, 134, 135 Pinto, Emanuel, Grand Master, 35, 111, 128, 146, 147, 153, 159, 168 Pius VI, pope, 44, 74 Pius, saint, 9, 115, 151, 183 Placido, saint, 206 Platta, bailiff, benefactor, 215 Polycarp of Smyrna, saint, 3, 11, 22, 23, 95 Pontius Pilate, 2 Porphyrus, saint, 121 Porta Portuensis, 32 Portelli, Felice, priest, 67 Portelli, Ignazio carpenter, 88 Porto Salvo church, 54 Portughes Albino, 26 Pretexto Cemetery Rome, 65 Preti, Mattia, artist, 123, 139, 205 Preziosi, Conte, benefactor, 216 Preziosi, count and secretary of the grand master, 67 Preziosi Giuseppe, canon, 207, 216 Procathumenas, Nicola, 35

INDEX 227

Protasius, saint, 4, 22 Protopsalti, Francesco, priest/silversmith, 87, 88, 92, 107, 108, 135 Publius, saint, 28, 29, 51, 61, 64, 85, 114, 169, 206, 221 Pulis, Filippo, benefactor, 214 Qormi parish church, 9, 14, 37, 92, 105 Qrendi parish church, 51, 59 Rabat, St Dominic’s church, 9, 23, 51, 56, 67, 69, 182 Rabat, St Paul’s parish/grotto, xi, 28, 29, 32, 49, 54, 56, 76, 103, 113, 114, 165 Raymond, saint, 17 Re, Anton, priest, 81 Rizzo, bailiff, benefactor, 215 Rhodes, 25, 29, 35, 110 Rigaud, Francesco, silversmith, 92 Rohan, Emanuel, Grand Master, 21, 35, 40, 72, 73, 74, 127, 136, 145, 155 Rome, x, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 17, 26, 28, 32, 33, 37, 41, 42, 44, 45, 65, 69, 70, 74, 75, 76, 85, 95, 96, 108, 110, 151, 157, 201, 213 Romirez, Maldonato Eugenio, governor of Gozo, 114 Roque, saint, 17 Rosalia, saint, 17, 115, 151, 199, 207, 211 Rossignoli, Francesco, director of Manresa retreat house, 42, 63, 64 Ruffo, Antonio, inquisitor, 28, 35, 37, 44, 45, 49, 59, 60, 61, 85, 88, 90, 91, 132, 142, 203, 206, 207 Rull, Bartholomew, bishop, 45, 47, 85, 87, 93, 118, 120, 121, 128, 159, 199, 205, 206, 207 Sacchi Andrea, artist, 4, 5 Safi parish church, vii, 32, 75, 120, 121, 194, 202, 212 Sagnani, Giovanni Battista, parish priest, 33, 87 Sagona, Paolo, gilder, 88 Saliba, Giuseppe, silversmith, 82 Saliba, Mario, notary, 28 Saliba, Michaelangelo, notary, 102 Salvaloco-Debono, clerics, 67 Salviati, Gregorio, inquisitor, 40, 65 Sammut, Giusto, priest, 33 San Alessandro church, Rome, 11 San Calcedonius Cemetery, Rome, 70, 71 San Callixtus Cemetery, Rome, 32, 41, 44, 69, 76 San Francesco a Ripa, Rome, 96 St Lawrence Cemetery, Rome, 70 San Marcellus Cemetery, Rome, 28 San Martino ai Monti, Rome, 8 Sanmartino, maestro di cappella, benefactor, 216 San Salvatore, Rome, 28 St Sebastian Cemetery, Rome, 33 Sant, Baldassare, partecipant, 67 Santa Ciriaca Cemetery, Rome, 28, 40, 73 Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome, 116, 184 Santa Maria tal-Virtù, Rabat, 21, 61 Santa Priscilla Cemetery, Rome, 28 40 Sanzio, Raffaello, artist, 105, 107 Sapiano, Andrea, silversmith, 92 145 Saqqajja Hill, Rabat, 52, 60 Savoye, Ludovico, canon, 206 Scerri Zammit, Salvatore, canon, 75 Schach l’Ehfar, 75 Schembri, Maruzzo, silversmith, 92 Schembri, Paolo, silversmith, 92 Sciberras, Domenico, archdeacon, 62 Sciberras, Matteo, canon, 52 Sciberra,s Pasquale, baron, 73 Seguna, Giuseppe, priest, 65 Senglea parish church, 9, 37, 59, 64, 73, 74, 87, 96, 99, 211 Sicily, 26, 50, 52, 54, 115, 180 Siġġiewi parish church, viii, 9, 12, 14, 51, 59, 77, 115, 120, 123, 139, 151, 183 Signor Palmo, silversmith, 217 Signor Sebastiano, architect, 217 Sinforianus, saint, 37 Sixtus V, pope, 23 Spada, Filippo Carlo, archbishop of Teodosia in Zechia, 45 Spiteri, Agostino, benefector, 216 Spiteri, Giuseppe, benefactor, 215

Spiteri, Maria, benefactress, 215 St Agatha Church, Florence, xi, 52, 124 St Agatha Museum Rabat, vii, 92, 103, 107, 114, 131, 148, 180 St Publius Church, Rabat, xi 114 Stephen, saint, 2 Sulpitius, saint, 32, 113, 176 Ta’ Strina, 35 Tal-Ħerba, 92 Tanti, Anna, 33, 35 Tanti, Antonio, blacksmith, 73 Tarxien, 92, 212 Testaferrata Antonio, canon, 112, 169, 203, 206, 207 Testaferrata, baron, 67 Testaferrata, Mandolfo, benefactor, 217 Teuma, Rosina, benefactress, 216 Thei Alessandro, priest, 72, 73, 205 Theocristes, saint, 35 Theodore, saint, 4, 33, 35, 88, 182 Therese of Avila, doctor of the Church, 44, 47, 79, 90, 108, 116, 123, 141, 186 Therese of Lisieux, saint, 75 Theuma Giovanni Battista, canon, 59, 91, 207 Tholossenti Giovanni Battista, priest, 79 Thomas Becket, saint, 5 Thomas of Aquinas, doctor of the Church, 8, 95, 127, 205 Tislebas, saint, 35 Tomasi da Lampedusa, Giuseppe Maria, saint, 8 Tommasi, bailiff, benefactor, 215 Tonna Gio Battista, canon, 69, 205, 207 Tonna Giovanni, priest/sacristan, 67 Troisi Pietro Paolo, master of the mint, 88, 118 Turin, 6, 12 Umberto II, king, 6 Ursula, saint, 114, 121, 216

Valentinus, saint, 14, 28 Valletta church of Our Lady of Damascus, 35 Valletta Confraternity of the Holy Crucifix, 37, 79, 85, 109, 117, 146 Valletta Jesuits church, 14, 42, 99, 101, 115, 117, 120, 126, 163, 179, 188, 198, 213 Valletta St Paul Shipwrecked collegiate church, vii, 37, 45, 51, 67, 76, 77, 87, 90, 92, 96, 99, 101, 108, 111, 114, 118, 124, 134, 141, 143, 145, 150, 153, 165, 166, 168, 179 Varagine, da, Jacobo, 7 Vasconcellos, Mendes Luis, Grand Master, 26, 28, 207 Vassallo, Giacomo, priest, 33 Vatican, 6, 8, 9, 22, 37 Vella, Francesco, silversmith, 92 Vella, Grezzio, benefactor, 216 Vella, Thomas, notary, 87 Veneranda, saint, 14, 44, 51, 65, 81, 209, 211 Venetians, 6, 7 Veneziano, Antonio, benefactor, 217 Venusta, saint, 14 Vervano, Maruzzo, silversmith, 87 Via Tiburtina, Rome, 40 Viani, Petrus, prior, 90 Victor/Victorius, saint, 9, 11, 17, 37, 51, 70 Victoria, saint, 8, 14, 37 Vittoriosa parish church, vii, 23, 37, 41, 44, 49, 51, 57, 58, 59, 61, 62, 65, 69, 116, 118, 126, 151, 157, 172, 185, 186, 208, 209, 211, 216 Vilhena Manoel, Grand Master, 33, 88, 135, 142 Villeneuve, Bailiff, 90, 116, 186 Villiers de l’Isle Adam Philippe, Grand Master, Vincent/Vincentius, saint, 14, 29, 51, 56, 61, 103, 130, 172, 207, 210, 211 Vivier Antonio, dominican, 42

228

Wied Qirda, 88 Wignacourt, Alof, Grand Master, 29, 50, 54, 76 Wignacourt Museum Rabat, viii, 17, 29, 32, 49, 117, 124, 130, 192 Wisinch, Giacchino, maestro, 165 Xara, baron, 67 Xara, Antonio, chaplain of the conventual church, 42 Xuereb, Giovanni, archpriest, 73, 75 Yaro, Vincenzo, lawyer, 208 Żabbar, viii, 40, 51, 65, 66, 67, 92, 95, 102, 104, 207, 208, 214, 215 Zahra, Gaetano, silversmith, 92 Zahra, Paolo and Felice, sacristans, 67 Zammit, Andrea, procurator, 88 Zammit Ellul, Michael, priest, 45, 74, 75 Zammit, Francesco, capomastro, 219 Zammit, Giovanni, maestro, 88 Zammit, Giuseppe, priest, 81 Zammit, Mudesta, benefactress, 216 Zammit, Stefano, priest/procurator, 118 Zammit, Vincenzo, priest, 74 Zarb, Emanuele, priest, 74 Żebbuġ parish church, viii, 14, 32, 33, 35, 44, 47, 49, 51, 74, 77, 79, 87, 88, 92, 93, 104, 107, 108, 117, 118, 135, 136, 137, 182 Żurrieq parish church, vii, xi, 14, 17, 23, 45, 47, 49, 51, 70, 73, 81, 88, 98, 105, 108, 115, 118, 121

TREASURES OF FAITH

This beautifully illustrated volume examines the cult of sacred relics in Baroque Malta in greater depth than ever before. It traces the origins of relic veneration and their arrival to Malta with the Knights of the Order of St John. The book discusses the importance of the reliquaries as an artistic expression of devotion to the holy remains, and the cult they instilled in the community that felt the need to reach to the divine in moments of great turbulence.