Unità documentaria 0434 - Tifkira tal-V Centenarju tal Kanonizzazzjoni ta' San Vincenz Ferreri 1455-1955

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The black and white image is reproduction of the altarpiece found at the Basilica of Our Lady of Porto Salvo and St Dominic in Valletta. This altarpiece shows St Vincent Ferrer (+1419) preaching to the Moors. Ranzano, his first biographer, estimates the number of Jews converted at 25,000 and in the Kingdom of Granada he converted thousands of Moors to Christianity. The image is a memento commemorating the fifth centenary from the saint's canonisation. At the back of the image, one finds a prayer to be said before drinking the holy water of the saint. Tradition holds that when a sick person drinks this water, he is healed. In the Order of Preachers, the tradition arose of blessing water in the name of St. Vincent Ferrer, as an invocation of assistance against illness. This is due, at least in part, to the reputation of this great saint as the instrument of many miraculous healings.

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