Item 0299 - The Sacred Heart of Mary

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The colourful picture depicts a statue of the crowned Blessed Virgin Mary with the crowned Child Jesus in Her arms and a sceptre in Her right hand. This statue is adorned with the twelve stars around the Virgin's head, referring to the biblical reference of the Book of Revelation 12: 1 - "A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head." Twelve is a number of perfection and here it symboliaes the twelve tribes of the Old Testament people and the twelve apostles. This image is a souvenir of the consecration of the M.U.S.E.U.M. Male Section No. 37 of Birkirkarato the Sacred Heart of Mary by the Archbishop of Malta, Mgr Michael Gonzi on the Feast of the Purification, i.e. 2nd February, in Maltese better known as Il-festa tal-Kandlora. At the top, on the second page, one can find the M.U.S.E.U.M. motto "+Verbum Dei caro factum est" - The Word of God became flesh." The M.U.S.E.U.M. is the Society founded by St George Preca in Malta on 7 March 1907, responsible for the teaching of the Christian Doctrine. The Female Section of the Society was founded in 1910.

• Maltese