Why Santa Marija means so much to Malta

On the morning of 15 August 1942, the nearly sunken oil tanker SS Ohio was hauled into Grand Harbour, carrying desperately needed fuel after months of devastating losses suffered by Allied convoys attempting to resupply Malta.

Crowds gathered along the bastions to watch the tanker enter the harbour. Its hull had been so badly damaged that the ship was effectively broken-backed, its engines failed, and its deck sat so close to the water that there were fears it could split apart before reaching the island.

Malta was the most heavily bombed places on earth during the Second World War and, by this point, had been under siege for more than two years. The island was “on the brink of capitulation,” according to Heritage Malta, when the Allies launched Operation Pedestal.

An enormous naval force had been assembled to escort 14 merchant ships to Malta, but only five ultimately reached the ravaged island. Axis aircraft, submarines and other forces relentlessly attacked the convoy, sinking or disabling ships and forcing others to turn back. More than 500 Allied sailors, airmen and other personnel were killed during the operation.

The Ohio approaching Malta supported by destroyers (Photo: War Office official photographer, Deakin Sgt)

The Ohio’s arrival was met with cheers as bands beet their drums in celebration. Facing severe shortages and with only weeks of food remaining, Maltese children watching from the shore were recorded shouting: “We want food, not oil!” Others were heard chanting “God Save the King!”

As the damaged ships were unloaded, people waiting at the port jumped into the dark blue ocean to salvage whatever cargo they could, while others, either more rebellious or simply desperate, opted to steal food from the convoy. One man went down in historical records after caught stealing a small tin of peaches less than an hour after the Ohio arrived.

But 15 August marks more than the arrival of the convoy. It is also the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, colloquially known in Malta as Santa Marija, commemorating Mary being taken, body and soul, into heaven. And it was on this day, which celebrates triumph over death and heavenly glory, that the SS Ohio finally arrived in Malta.

The feast had been celebrated in Malta for centuries before the war, with University of Malta research tracing celebrations in Gozo back to at least 1398. Records also show Grand Masters timing their Gozo visits to coincide with the Santa Marija feast.

The convoy only added another layer to the day’s symbolism of salvation. Mary had triumphed over death, while Malta had survived, with the stubborn resilience that characterises its people, months of starvation and years of bombing, at a time when defeat appeared to be waiting at the door.

Santa Marija was not always celebrated as it is today. Vespers, an evening service of prayer, traditionally preceded the feast, followed by mass the next day. Horse races in Gozo associated with Santa Marija also date back to the Middle Ages, while the feast’s exhibition, known as the Wirja ta’ Santa Marija, dates back to at least 1730.

The Santa Marija procession descending Victoria's It-Telgha tal-Belt on 15 August 1956 ((Photo: John Meilak/GozoAlbum)

As centuries went by, solemn religious ceremonies spilled out of the church and into the villages. Residents live among the saints for a week as statues of the Assumption are carried through illuminated streets.

Today, Santa Marija is one of the most anticipated events of the summer. Fireworks, unbelievable amounts of alcohol, band clubs, and village rivalry take over entire localities. The night of 14 August has journeyed far from an evening of solemn prayer to one of the loudest nights of the season.

But Santa Marija is unlike other feasts, which tend to hijack one village for a week. It is celebrated simultaneously across the islands. This year, marching bands will flood the streets and fireworks will fill the skies over Birkirkara, Gudja, Attard, Għaxaq, Mosta, Mqabba, Qrendi and Victoria in Gozo.

Falling right in the middle of the scorching Maltese summer, Santa Marija sends families to Gozo, brings day-long xalati and barbecues by the sea, while businesses shut their doors as workers take their summer leave. Even if you aren’t Catholic, it is safe to say that you are probably celebrating Santa Marija.

The statue of the Assumption of the Holy Mary carried through the streets of Rabat in Gozo (Photo: Daniel Cilia)

Yet the Catholic tradition remains at the centre of the feast. Church doors open, bells ring, and the statue of the Virgin Mary rising up to heaven is carried down the steps and into crowds of people reaching their hands up to the feet of the saint.

The symbolism of Mary’s Assumption, the deliverance associated with the convoy, and the rowdy yet faithful celebrations they have come to inspire all come together on 15 August.

While the Axis spent years trying to bomb and starve Malta into submission, the Maltese became a symbol of wartime endurance as ordinary life continued amid the destruction.

Less than a month after the SS Ohio arrived in 1942, a British viscount described the spirit of the Maltese people as not merely undefeated, but “quite undefeatable,” recounting how children continued to play among the rubble as machine-gun fire passed overhead.

Malta’s resilience, he said, would be remembered as “one of the great epics of history.”