Mass de Requiem – 7 September 2024
Members of the Maltese Association led by the President-elect, Dr Michael Grech, gathered in the sacristy of St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta on Saturday 7th September at 8.00 am for the traditional Mass de requiem offered for those members of the Order and Maltese who gave their life in the defence of Christianity during the Great Siege of 1565.
Monsignor Paul Vella was the main celebrant. Mgr Brendan Gatt and Mgr Victor McKeon concelebrated.
At the end of Holy Mass, the Members of the Order together with the members of the clergy processed first to the grave of one of the great heroes of the Great Siege, Fra’ Don Melchior de Robles, which is situated in the Chapel of the Langue of Auvergne, dedicated to St Sebastian, where prayers were offered for the repose of his soul.
The procession then moved down very solemnly into the Grand Masters’ Crypt lying beneath the high altar of the Co-Cathedral. A total of 12 Grand Masters lie at rest in the Grand Masters’ Crypt, the last to be buried there being Grand Master Fra’ Matthew Festing.
More images are available at the gallery below:
