The Parish Church of Saint Mary’s in Birkirkara, Malta was mostly leveled by an earthquake in 1856. A new church, dedicated to Saint Helen was built and loved enough to eventually be named a basilica. Yet so many years later Malta is displaying the ruins as something tourist should see. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
This 12 stamp issue promoted tourism on the small island of Malta. They came up with 12 sites to see, most of which you are not going to see on a brief cruise ship stop.
Todays stamp is issue A191, a 5 cent stamp issued by independent Malta on December 9th, 1991. The twelve stamp issue had different denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.
The Church was built over a 60 year period in the 17th century. It was dedicated to the Assumption of Mary to heaven. This is the belief shared by Catholics, Orthadox, and a few Protestants that at the end of Mary’s, mother of Jesus, time on Earth, she did not die but rather Angels came for her and lifted her bodily up to heaven. This confirmed her without sin and a renewal of the original Covenant as with Adam in the Garden of Eden. The Assumption is dated to August 15th, and celebrated as a feast day. In 1950 Pope Pius attached Papal Infallibility to the belief, but many Protestants don’t feel there is enough basis in the Bible for the belief. Feast poopers. As usual, Lutherans try to thread the needle by not believing in the Assumption but still celebrate the life on earth of Mary on August 15th.
Saint Mary’s Church was designed by Maltese architect Tommaso Dingli in the Renaissance style. After starting his career working on the Wignacourt Aqueduct that brought spring water into Valetta, he settled into the core of his career designing churches around Malta. His reputation was such the Giovanni de Medici tried to bring him to Italy. Dingli refused as he had too much work to do on Malta. I bet Malta wished that was still the case for their best and brightest.
In 1856 there was an earthquake that collapsed the tower and mostly
closed the church except as an occasional funeral venue. The damaged shell was still much loved as it contained so much history. One wall has graffiti dating from the 17th century and another as bullet holes left from the Napoleon Era French occupation. As early as 1890 there was a local committee with the the goals of rebuilding the church. A new roof was finally put on in the 1970s, not to the original style but again allowing the church to host a Parrish starting in 2005.
Well my drink is empty. I can understand why Birkirkara is fond of the the old ruins. My city also has a church that lost it’s roof to a Nineteenth century hurricane. They left the open air shell around, not as a funeral venue but to host music performances. Come again tomorrow when there will be another story to be learned from stamp collecting.