Luqa

St Andrew, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, is the patron saint of Luqa and holds a central place in the town’s religious identity. Known as the brother of St Peter, Andrew was among the first disciples called by Christ and later travelled widely preaching the Gospel. Tradition holds that he was martyred on an X-shaped cross, now widely known as the St Andrew’s Cross, a symbol that can still be spotted on street-corner niches around Luqa dedicated to the saint. The parish’s revered titular statue of St Andrew, sculpted in wood by Giuseppe Scolaro in 1779, remains a highlight of the festa. The statue has undergone several conservation efforts, including restoration by Abraham Gatt in 1913 and a major restoration project completed in 2013 to preserve this treasured symbol of the town’s devotion.