In the late 50s the Gozo Cathedral Chapter called an open competition for all Maltese artists to design the pedestal and base (bankun) for the titular statue of the Assumption of Our Lady. The submissions were taken to Rome for adjudication by a Vatican Sacred Art Jury. Samuel Bugeja’s design was selected and he sculpted all the models in clay for casting in silver and bronze in Rome and Malta foundries respectively. The work, inaugurated in 1960, is a major veritable spectacle in Sacred Art.