Rev. Dr Jonathan Farrugia, Head of Department of Church History, Patrology and Paleochristian Archaeology at the Faculty of Theology, has been awarded the National Book Prize 2020 in the category Biographical and Historiographic Research for the book 'Ir-Redentur. History, Art and Cult of the Miraculous Effigy of Christ the Redeemer at Senglea, Malta' of which he was editor.
Dr Farrugia’s 184-page hardbound publication features three scholarly essays, an introduction by the archpriest of Senglea parish, and a message by the Archbishop of Malta. Farrugia's essay is the result of a thorough analysis of 2,000 pages of manuscripts, discovered in December 2017 in the Oratory of the Holy Crucifix in Senglea, which shed new historical light on one of the most devout statues in Malta.
In another essay, Dr Sandro Debono, the Advisor for Culture at the Office of the President of the Republic of Malta, elaborates on the image of Christ carrying the cross in the context of Maltese 18th-century art. On their part, Valentina Lupo and Maria Grazia Zenzani, directors of Atelier del Restauro Ltd., delve into the scientific techniques used during the conservation process between 2017 and 2018.
