A wax figure of Baby Jesus, wrapped in bands of cloth, graces the foot of the table altar of Ta’ Pinu Basilica until next Sunday when the Church commemorates the Baptism of Christ.
The figure was cast in wax by Fr Charles Vella and lies in a manger typical of the ones that used to be found in farmhouses around Gozo in the past.
It is ideally placed at the foot of the altar to remind the faithful that the child Jesus, born in Bethlehem, is the same Jesus present on the altar during the sacrifice of Mass and received by the faithful during Holy Communion. Just as the food in the manger provided sustenance to the farm animals, so does He now offers himself as the bread of life to believers.