Clocks of St. George’s Basilica

When St. George’s Basilica in Victoria, Malta, was built in 1678, its front façade included two circular spaces that could be used for either sundials or clocks so that people in the square in front of the church could tell the time.  However, these circular spaces were left blank for centuries until the basilica underwent restoration work between 2019 and 2022, at which point in time the parish decided to install clocks in the front façade.

The parish employed local artist John Grima to work on the clocks. However, both the artist and the parish noted that everyone today was surrounded by timekeeping devices and that no one needed another clock to be able to see what time it was. They therefore decided to install two different types of clock that presented time in a completely different way.

Both clocks are made of marble and have single bronze pointers. The one on the east tower (as seen on the left when looking at the front façade) bears the Greek letter Alpha. The circumference is mostly surrounded by what appear to be minute marks except that the clock has more than 60 of these marks and that a small gap appears to exist between the 0 and 3 minute position. The single bronze dial on this clock does not move but instead points to the clockwise side of the gap in the tick marks. This clock represents time—not in the normal sense, but rather in a spiritual sense. It symbolically indicates that Jesus Christ (the Alpha) arrived at the right time, with his actions piercing into the chronological time of humanity.

The clock on the west tower (as seen on the right when looking at the front façade) features the Greek letter Omega. The circumference is mostly blank except for five minute marks just before the 0 minutes position. The single dial of this clock tells the hour much like a conventional clock, and it is meant to indicate that time is still moving towards the second coming of Jesus Christ.

The average traveler passing through the square in front of the basilica may not even pay much attention to the clocks, and many people who do notice might simply be confused by the clocks’ appearance, but the visitors who take the time to research the history of the clocks will have a deeper understanding of the artwork’s theological interpretation.