Monsignor Gonzi Wayside Chapel
N 35° 49.169 E 014° 27.195
33S E 450610 N 3964064
Found near the Blue Grotto in Malta. A very beautiful coastline where one finds the Blue Grotto, and the rugged valley walls. Apart from walking to the valley from Zurrieq, which is pleasant enough, further walks can however be rough in places.
Interesting small wayside chapel along the walkway to view the Blue Grotto. It is about 8 feet tall with a small plaque dedicated to Monsignor Gonzi in 1950.
Waymark Code: WMC43
Location: Malta
Date Posted: 05/07/2006
Views: 58
Translation of the plaque by Josette (Malta): The wording, literally translated says:
By a decree of the 13th of December 1950, Monsignor Archbishop Michael
Gonzi
hereby concedes 200 days of forgiveness to whoever recites with devotion
the prayer Salve Regina (a prayer to our Lady).
Monsignor Gonzi was the Archbishop for the islands of Malta and Gozo at
that time, and it was customary for an Archbishop to concede forgiveness
for sins if one said the prayer indicated on the lapida. In this case,
if one stood in front of the lapida and said the prayer Salve Regina,
one could be assured of a "discount" of 200 days from the eventual
"sentence" in purgatory for sins committed. So if your final time in
purgatory was supposed to be say a year, by saying this prayer, you
discounted 200 of them if you said the prayer with devotion.
There are many of these lapidas all over the island, and the idea was to
get people to pray, pray, pray. I remember as a child my mother would
always stop in front of these lapidas and we would say the prayer with
devotion. I guess she was anticipating quite some time in purgatory and
was trying to discount as many years as possible!
Whether it's true or not? Who knows!!! Surely, the church of the time
had a great deal of power over the minds of people. Remember, 1950 was
a time when most people had not gone to school much, because of the war
etc, and like my mother, did not think with their own minds, but with
the mind of the church. It was the village Parish Priest who decided
the name of your new born child, or indeed the new donkey, who settled
quibbles within families and friends, and people of the age of my mother
(who today would be 80) believed blindly in all these things that the church put forward.
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