Just next door to the street shrine of St Michael which we had published last week, located on door number 13 in St Michael Street, one finds another niche. This niche is dedicated to Our Lady of Rosary, although the Rosary beads are missing from the Madonna and Child’s hands.
The statue is not of great artistic value but had a strong vernacular character. The niche on the other hand attempts to copy some early Baroque architecture elements.
Of significant interest is the marble inscription beneath the shrine which reads:
INDULGENZA TA 50. GURNATA MOGHTIA MILL’ ARCISKOF U ISKOF PIETRU PACE DD FIL-5 TA DECEMBRU 1913 LIL MIN IGHEID AVE MARIA KUDDIEM DIN L’ IMMAGINA
This means that the indulgence was given by the Archbishop Pietru Pace on the 5th December 1913, which leads to the conclusion that this street shrine is almost 100 years old. It is worth noting also the way in which the inscription is written – in old Maltese.
One should conclude by remarking on the miserable condition in which this niche has been left in.
Wirt iż-Żejtun 