November 30th, 2007

Filed under:
Malta, The Long View

Spare Yourself 100 Days in Purgatory

A couple of weeks ago, Julie went on a two-hour tour of the Gozo’s many religious niches–Catholic statues embedded in the facades of buildings. I was up for a one-hour tour, but that didn’t materialize, and I just couldn’t stomach two hours of historical niche study in a minivan full of British septuagenarians. Julie could, bless her, and took a number of lovely photos (she was also unknowingly photographed for the local paper). Here’s one:

Spare Yourself 100 Days in Purgatory

That’s an inscription under this niche. A Maltese speaker can help with the translation, but I gather it says, in part, “say Hail Marys under this niche, and spare yourself a hundred days in purgatory”. I believe you can also roll again, unless you land on Park Place.

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Comments: 2 Responses so far

Darren, The inscription is not in Maltese, but in Italian. It translates:
By decree of Mar 18, 1953 His Excellency Joseph Pace, Bishop of Gozo, gives an indulgence of 100 days to whoever recites a P. Pater Nostre, A. Ave Maria, G. Gloria in front of this statue.

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Darren get some shoes you crazy coot

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