CONSECRATION OF OUR CONVENTUAL CHURCH - MONDAY 20 FEBRUARY
Today’s feast marks the consecration, in 1578, of the Conventual Church of Saint John of Jerusalem, the mother-church of the Order of Malta until 1798 and now the Co-cathedral of the diocese of Malta. Holy Mass will be celebrated for the Order in England at 6.30pm at the Assumption, Warwick Street.
On this day the Order also customarily commemorates the dedication of our other churches and chapels around the world, including our eponymous Conventual Church at the Hospital of Saints John and Elizabeth, St John’s Wood. We also give thanks to Almighty God for the kindness of Cardinal Nichols, of Mgr Newton, the Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate, and Father Elliot-Smith, the Rector of this church of there Assumption, in allowing us its use as a Conventual Chapel.
At this Mass, there will be a special showcase by Ensemble Pro Victoria, directed by our praefectus cantorum, Toby Ward, of the Missa Maria Magdalena by the Portugese composer Francisco Garro, director of the Chapel Royal in Lisbon for 31 years until his death in 1623. The work, once lost, has recently been reconstructed for the Ensemble. The Communion motet by Fernando de las Infantas was composed to commemorate the defeat of the Turks during the Great Siege of Malta in 1565, in the aftermath of which the city of Valetta and our Principal Church at its heart were constructed. Deo gratias!
This day also, the Grand Prior, Fra' Max Rumney, is visiting the Nuns of the Order at the Convent of Saint Jean d'Acre at Salinas de Añana. Their Convent is nearly as old as our Priory, having first been founded when the Order still held Acre (1190 to 1291). He is presenting them with a gift of stolas for the Professed Sisters. Please pray, today and every day, for vocations to the religious life among women in our Order.
After Mass, all are invited to a Reception in the Chapter Room, at which Ensemble Pro Victoria’s landmark 2023 recording of Francisco Garro will be presented. See the link to their musical work HERE.
Saint John the Baptist, pray for us
Our Lady of Philermo, pray for us