I took the shot on the left some weeks ago (maybe even months). The shot on the right was forwarded to me by my elder brother, Joe.
Left picture: A niche for St Joseph promising an indulgence of 100 days for whoever stops and says a Hail Mary in front of the statue – the indulgence is approved by Maltese Bishop Maurus Caruana. Indulgences were very common in the Catholic Church in the past. It was believed that when one’s sins are forgiven at confession, one’s soul still had to spend some time in Purgatory to clear every trace of sin. An Indulgence was meant to reduce the time one had to spend there.
Right picture: Some months ago my brother and I were trying to form the family tree on my mother’s side as we needed it for an inheritance from many years before and we discovered that Bishop Maurus Caruana is part of that family. He was born on November 16, 1867, ordained priest on 14 March 1891, consegrated bishop on 22 January 1915 and died on December 17, 1943 aged 76 years. His death happened 6 months before I was born. You can find more on Wikipedia if you like. Btw, the inheritance meant that the money which was meant for each one of those on our side was so small that we abandoned our claim.
Thank you for your looks, comments and fav's. Sorry for the long history.
I love it when people unearth really interesting family histories like this. I had forgotten the custom of indulgences....something instilled into us a school....a long time ago! These days an indulgence is something a bit different! Your ancestor was quite an illustrious man...pity about the inheritance though!!
! I like the word 'indulgence' - a meaning different perhaps to this one!
Ian