Xaghra Parish » Gallery » 2013 » FEAST OF ST ANTHONY THE ABBOT 2013 » 20 JAN 2013 - BLESSING OF ANIMALS AND DEFILE
The climax of the feast of St Anthony the Abbot was reached when hundreds of children, adults and senior citizens converged on the Square of St Anthony the Abbot with their pets and animals to be blessed.
After Vespers in the Basilica led by Xaghra Archpriest, Mgr Carmelo Refalo, the statue of the Saint was carried in procession from the Basilica to the Square of St Anthony the Abbot. The Victory Band of Xaghra led the procession playing marches. The statue of St Anthony the Abbot followed and after it the Chapter and Clergy of the Collegiate. People holding pets and animals brought the rear.
In the Square, at 4.30 pm the Parish Archpriest blessed the gathering and prayed to the Saint to keep the animals and crops safe from harm. It has to be mentioned that Mgr Archpriest was officiating in the unavoidable absence of H.L. Bishop Mgr Mario Grech. After benediction, children of all ages and adults filed past the Archpriest presenting their pets and animals and receiving a small bag of wheat and the 'panina', a small loaf associated with St Anthony the Abbot. There were all sorts of animals and birds. The pig, closely associated with the Saint, was not missing and it contrasted with the lambs preceding it. The latter were spotlessly white while the former was black all over.
After ninety minutes that the filing past the Archpriest started, the procession continued to the Church of St Anthony the Abbot where Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament was imparted.
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