Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1024340
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 SEPTEMBER 2018 NEWS MATTHEW VELLA THE police are investigating al- legations of theft of religious art from Qrendi's Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mercy, after an exhi- bition revealed missing pieces from an original inventory. The allegations had been an open secret among a community of worshippers at the church and art connoisseurs, but the mat- ter reached a head after Qrendi MP and parliamentary secretary Julia Farrugia Portelli was peti- tioned to take action. In a complaint to the police seen by MaltaToday, Farru- gia Portelli says that a number of the church's centuries-old votive offerings and artworks – listed in an inventory from 2002 for a university disserta- tion – had gone missing since the artworks were moved else- where pending a restoration of the church's interior. "If there are any paintings that are missing, it merits an inves- tigation," Farrugia Portelli told the police, who specifically said the date of its restoration un- der the auspices of the heritage NGO Din l-Art Helwa in 2009, and the tenure of former Qrendi chaplain Fr Ray Toledo could be a starting point for investigators. "Fr Toledo had authorised the removal of the paintings at the time of the restoration," Farru- gia Portelli said, and referred to a public message posted on her own Facebook wall by the artist Chris Ebejer. Farrugia Portelli told police that Ebejer suggested that Tole- do took the paintings to a house- hold for safekeeping, and asked police to verify the claim. In his own Facebook post, Ebejer – a sculptor and reli- gious artist – said that "it is Fr Toledo who can testify as to who were the people who dis- mantled the artwork, when it was passed on to Din l-Art Hel- wa, whose interventions must be said were indeed minimal if not insignificant… many are those Qrendi residents who have been talking about this incident for years, and who have now spoken to Julia." On his part, Fr Ray Toledo dis- puted the allegations, saying that at the time of his chaplaincy no restoration had taken place. "I carried out an inventory of these artworks myself, knowing that over the years some artworks had gone missing. But it is untrue that I removed any of them… in my time there had been no resto- ration of the Sanctuary." Toledo added that he knows about having relocated two art- works from the Sanctuary into another Qrendi church, but could not exactly remember which. MaltaToday has been informed that a police unit focusing on cultural property is handling the investigation. "I'm sticking my neck out because nobody wants to talk about it," Farrugia Portelli told MaltaToday about the com- plaint she filed. The Sanctuary is currently hosting an exhibition of its ex- voto artworks, many of them hailing from the 17th century. The Sanctuary is now due for restoration by the government's restoration unit in 2019, with a view for its reopening in 2020. The Sanctuary was passed un- der deed of trust to Din l-Art Helwa in 2009. Built between 1650 and 1658, the Baroque chapel is attributed to the ar- chitect Mederico Blondel. Al- though the actual building goes back to the 13th century, it had been deconsecrated in 1575 by Bishop Dusina until the new church was built. With its impressive cupola and large interior, the Sanctu- ary was adorned with various thanksgiving artworks and an al- tar adorned with exquisite stone carvings: the earliest artwork, dating back to the early 17th century, depicts a fleet of galleys of the Order and from the King- dom of Sicily trying to enter har- bour to escape a storm. One of the main benefactors of this church was Bailiff Fra Philipp-Wolfgang von Gutten- berg, a Knight of the Order of St John, who donated the paintings of St Mary Magdalene attributed to the Mattia Preti school, and that of the Crucifixion, attribut- ed to Suor Maria de Domenicis, commissioned in 1690. Parliamentary secretary files police complaint over residents' allegations of missing artworks from Qrendi church during restoration works Missing artworks prompt police investigation The Qrendi Sanctuary is currently hosting an ex-voto exhibition