Two Famous Statues of Christ in Malta

10 years ago
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by David
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Two statues of Jesus, in two very contrasting environments.

First we have the Statue of the Risen Christ, which sits atop a hill in Gozo, near Marsalforn. The hill in question – Tal-Mer?uq Hill – has been the subject of legend for many a year. Although to be honest, Malta is such a small place that any slight geographical anomaly has probably got about fifteen legends to it’s name.

Anyway, at one time Gozo was supposed to have displeased God, for which he cloaked the island in darkness for three days (He can’t have been all that displeased) until a beam of light shone down upon the crest of the hill. Other people believed it was a volcano because they saw smoke coming from the top.

It was probably a fire on top of the hill. Definitely not a volcano.

Anyway there was a wooden cross on top of the hill for many years, replaced in the 20th century by a wooden statue of Jesus. The current stone incarnation has been in place since the 70’s, and you can trek up to it if you really wish to do so.

The second famous Christ statue (called Kristu tal-Ba??ara or Christ of the Seafarers) is found a couple of kilometres out at sea near Qawra. But underwater, so rather more difficult to spot for the casual tourist. It was put down there to commemorate the visit of Pope John-Paul in 1990, and also as something for divers to look at when they get bored of fish.