01 · FAITH AND TEACHING
A devotion rooted in the village
Our Lady of Christian Doctrine, also called Our Lady of Catechism, is a title of Mary associated with teaching the Christian faith. Madonna tad-Duttrina is a distinct Tarxien devotion, separate from the Annunciation, while honouring the same Virgin Mary.
Lorenzo Zahra’s 1996 history dates Tarxien’s Doctrine congregation to 5 March 1748. Its purpose was religious instruction, and it became a confraternity in 1874. The devotion therefore predates the present processional statue. [A]
Zahra’s account of the 1876 festa describes street decorations, illumination and fireworks before the present statue’s first procession. [A]
02 · THE STATUE
Ġlormu Darmanin’s work of 1877
The present statue was made in 1877 by Ġlormu, also known as Gerolamo, Darmanin (1834–1879). A receipt found by Karmenu Massa corrected the earlier attribution to Darmanin’s uncle Karlu, or Carlo. [B]
Signed on 31 May 1877, the receipt identifies the material as papier-mâché, or kartapesta. Architect Mikiel Busuttil supplied the design for the statue and plinth. The recorded payment, including the star ornament, was 20 pounds, six shillings and three pence, paid in Sicilian currency by Dun Franġisk Feliċ Attard. [C]
03 · SYMBOLISM
Mary and the three children
Mary stands with open arms above three children. The published historical interpretation connects the children with the nobility, wealthy people and poor people, expressing equal dignity before God and Mary. This is an interpretation of the group’s meaning, rather than an identification of individual models. [C]
04 · CARE THROUGH GENERATIONS
An artwork changed over time
The restoration timeline follows Joseph C. Camilleri’s 2002 confraternity publication. It records interventions by Angelo Dalli, Francalanza, Renzo Gauci and John Orlando, as well as later furnishings. [B]
The decorated pedestal and display stand belong to later phases of the work’s history. They should not automatically be dated to 1877. The supplied photograph shows an artwork cared for and altered across generations. [B]