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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 DECEMBER 2021 4 CULTURE A rare opening of the church of Our Lady of the Pillar by Heritage Malta ON 13 December, Malta's Re- public Day, Heritage Malta will be offering the public a rare op- portunity to visit the church of Our Lady of the Pillar in Vallet- ta. Arguably one of the finest of Valletta's lesser known assets, the church of Our Lady of the Pillar formed part of the adjoin- ing Auberge of the Langue of Aragon, Catalonia and Navarre. It was first built during the ear- ly 1670s, a full century after the construction of the Auberge proper. The foundation stone was laid by Grand Master Nicholas Co- toner and its construction was financed mainly through the generosity of Raimondo de Sol- er and Felice Inniges de Ayerba, Bailiffs of Majorca and Caspe respectively. Following his death in 1691, Fra de Ayerba was buried in- side the same church. Two years later, a severe earthquake that shook the Maltese Islands in January inflicted significant damage in the church con- struction, and the Aragonese knights engaged Romano Cara- pecchia, then resident engineer of the Order, to reconstruct it. Grand Master Ramon Perellos y Roccaful financed the project, which was completed in 1718. The interior is even more striking, boasting high sculp- tural qualities and adorned with a notable hoard of works of art. Of particular note is the altar- piece by Stefano Erardi, one of the leading artists in late seven- teenth-century Malta. It depicts the Blessed Virgin Mary appearing to the Apos- tle James the Greater as he was praying by the banks of the river Ebro at Zaragoza. Popularly known as Our Lady of the Pillar, this Spanish tra- dition enjoys a widespread and deep-rooted devotion in the Hispanic world and constitutes the main annual religious and cultural manifestation of the capital of Aragon, Zaragoza. Following the departure of the Order of St John from Malta in 1798, this church kept serving the spiritual needs of the neigh- bouring population. In 1866, Mgr Francesco Spiteri Agius in- stituted in this church the Isti- tuto Catechistico for the teach- ing of Christian doctrine to girls. Eventually Our Lady of the Pillar Church was first made available to the Franciscan Nuns who used to run a small school and, in 2007, entrusted to Heritage Malta. An extensive restoration programme was carried out by the Valletta Reha- bilitation Project between 1989 and 1991. Tickets at a reduced price of only €2 will be available at the door. Opening hours are from 10:00 to 16:00. All attend- ees must wear a face mask and respect social distanc- ing measures.