SENGLEA THROUGH THE AGES - 27 & 28

 

Senglea and the Basilica-Collegiate of Marija Bambina 

History full of important dates

      In 1554, Grand Master de la Sengle founded the city of Senglea and he named it after him. After some years Fort St Michael and the bastions of Senglea were to play an important part during the Great Siege of Malta. Senglea remained undefeated and started to be known as Civitas Invicta (the unconquered city).

      As a moment of the great victory achieved during the Great Siege a church dedicated to the birth of Our Lady was built. The liturgical feast of the birth of Our Lady and the victory over the Moors are interconnected in the minds of the Maltese. Whenever one mentions il-Vitoria (the victory), one immediately connects it with the statue of Marija Bambina of Senglea and its feast day on the 8th September.

     In 1575, the small church of St Julians was nominated as vice parish of the parish of Vittoriosa. In 1581, the Bishop of Malta, Mons Tommaso Gargallo elevated the church of Our Lady of Victory to the state of parish. Dun Anton di Nicolaci was chosen as the first parish priest.

 Marija Bambina, the plague, the Order of St. Philip

      In 1618, a Christian galley was shipwrecked on the coast of Dalmatia. The ship’s figurehead represented Our Lady was found floating by an Austrian captain. Two passengers from Senglea persuaded the captain to give the figurehead to the church of Senglea which up to that time did not have a titular statue. The figurehead was warmly accepted by the parish priest Dun Kosmo Talavera and by the people of Senglea. Today the statue of Marija Bambina is the oldest titular statue in the islands of Malta and Gozo.

      By 1645 the parish of Senglea was the second largest parish in Malta second only to the parish of Porto Salvu in Valletta. In those days the church was being enlarged, but the plague of 1675-1676 created great havoc. In Senglea about two thousand persons fell victims of this terrible disease. The parish priest Dun Frangisk Azzopardi was one of the victims. He assisted all those who asked for his help during this plague.

      In 1702, the church of Porto Salvu passed into the hands of the Order of St.Philip and a lot of pastoral work began in that particular area of Senglea. Among them there were persons who will be remembered for ever such as Dun Xmun Schembri, Dun Frangisku Saverju Baldacchino and Dun Ang. Raggio.

        The statue of Jesus Christ the Redeemer was made for Senglea’s church in the beginning of the 18th century. In a short while it attracted a lot of devotion. The Maltese started to visit the statue in national pilgrimages, large and small groups and more often on individual visits.

  The Collegiate

      Pope Pius VI elevated the parish church of Senglea to the state of Collegiate. Dun Salv Bonnici became the first arch priest. From that time till the time of parish priest Dun Vincenz Cachia II, Senglea had one hundred and thirty two canons serving the Collegiate.

  The Madonna tan-Nofs (Madonna of the middle) and St Anne Home for the Aged

      In 1813 another terrible plague hit our islands. Senglea prayed a lot for the intervention of our Lady and took all the necessary precautions. Senglea was not hit by the plague. As a show of thanksgiving a statue of Our Lady was placed on a column in the plain between the two hills of Senglea and being in the middle of the city the statue started to be commonly known as il-Madonna tan-Nofs (the Madonna in the middle). The sculptor of this statue was Vincenzo Dimech.

      Nicola Dingli and his wife Madalena nee Cornelio in their will, made in 1794, left their home to be converted into a home for disabled women. The home for disabled women was inaugurated in 1819. Recently it was re built on modern lines and was inaugurated on the 30th June 1987. Its second founder was Mons. Vincenz Camilleri. It now houses thirty persons, both males and females.

 Bishops and other renowned personalities from Senglea

      In 1807 the people of Senglea were very proud that one of their fellow citizens, Mons Ferdinandu Mattei, after he spent some time as Bishop of Pafo, was appointed Bishop of Malta and Archbishop of Rhodes. Later on in 1898, the same rejoicing was shown when the Senglean Mons Salvatore Gaffiero was appointed as the auxiliary of Archbishop Pace with the title of Bishop of Silimbrija. During the terrible days of World War II, the little bit of good news came about when Mons Emanuel Galea, a citizen of Senglea, a very intelligent and holy person, was elected as Bishop of Tralles in Asia and made auxiliary of the Bishops Mawru Caruana and Michael Gonzi.

      Senglea was becoming famous for it was producing a lot of important people in the religious, social and artistic fields. It is not possible to name all of them here. The following stand out:

     a)      in the literary field: the Archpriest Leopoldu Fiteni and Akille Ferres;

b)      in the political field and social field: Gorg Mitrovich, Anglu Caruana and Mons Injazju    

         Panzavecchia;

c)      in the artistic sphere: the members of the families of Duranti, Zahra, Darmanin and Bonnici.

 But there are many other more too.

      During the 19th century, Senglea started to build up a reputation for the bands, under different names, which used to take part in the feast of Marija Bambina and of Good Friday. In 1903, the local band La Vincitrice changed its name to Queen’s Own in honour of Queen Alexandra of Great Britain. The name still stands today.

 The Basilica and the crowning of the statue of Marija Bambina.

      On the 3rd January 1921, Pope Benedict XV decreed that the Collegiate of Senglea be elevated to the title of Basilica. The degree gave the Basilica of Senglea precedence over all the other Collegiate in Malta. But the local church authorities felt that this could lead to trouble and so the precedence issue was disregarded locally.

      On the 4th September 1921, Archbishop Mauru Caruana assisted by the Bishops Gwanni M. Camilleri and Anglu Portelli crowned the statue of Marija Bambina in a moving ceremony held at Senglea’s marina. This was an unforgettable experience for the people lucky enough to be present. On the fifty anniversary of the incoronation, a similar ceremony was held, also at Senglea’s marina and this time Cardinal Giacomo Lercaro put a golden rose at the foot of the statue of Our Lady.

  The tragedy of World War II

      Senglea suffered a lot during the last world war. The worse days were the 16th and 19th January 1941 and the 9th April 1942. Great damage was caused to many buildings in Senglea and the basilica was completely destroyed. In the summer of 1991, a monument, commemorating the people of Senglea who died in the war, was inaugurated. It is situated next to the Basilica and is the work of Ganni Bonnici.

      The church of St Philip served as temporary parish church between 1943 and 1957. The Archpriest Gwann Karlu Burlo was untiring in his endeavour to see that the construction work goes according to plan. On the 25th August 1957 the re-erected Basilica was again consecrated by the Archbishop Michael Gonzi. After some months, early in 1958, the Jesuits took over the running of the convent and the Church of St Philip from the organization of the Philippines which had by than died a natural death.

  The present

      Archpriest Dun Gwann Sladden was appointed in 1967. It was a transitional period for the church in that a lot of liturgical changes were in hand following the second Vatican Council. The Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart who had run the home for the aged, Home of St Anne left Senglea. There place was taken over by the lay society of the Fokolari Movement.

      In 1985, Senglea had a new Archpriest, Can Vincenz Cachia. Senglea like all other parishes was passing through difficult time brought about by modern trends. Nonetheless work on the embellishment of the church continues and the painting of the copula was taken in hand. It was entrusted to the painter Frank Portelli. On the 26th May 1990, Pope John Paul II passed through Senglea. He alighted at the marina from the catamaran which brought him from Gozo and he was driven through the streets of Senglea on his way to a meeting with the workers held at Cospicua. The streets of Senglea were full of people to witness this unique event.

  Senglea has its own history book

      Today we have a complete history of Senglea. It is the work of Friar Alexander Bonnici and it took him twelve years of hard intensifying researches to manage to write a history in three volumes. It is called: L-Isla: fi grajjiet il-Bazilka Santwarju ta’ Marija Bambina.

 SENGLEA THROUGH THE AGES - 28

 The Collegiate of Senglea was honoured with the title of Basilica by Pope Benedict XV 

     The people of Senglea have Pope Benedict XV very much at heart. On the 20th May 1920 he issued the degree which permitted the coronation of the statue of Marija Bambina. Furthermore, on the 3rd January 1921 he elevated the church of Senglea from Collegiate to Basilica Minor.

      The degree issued which elevated the church to Basilica is rather special in that it does not have the same wording as other similar degrees issued for other churches on the island. The Basilica of Senglea was given the same privileges enjoyed by the other Basilicas Minor in Rome. Those in Rome have precedence on the other Collegiates and hence this honour was also bestowed on the Basilica of Senglea. The Bishops of Malta, Mauru Caruana and Michael Gonzi were afraid that this precedence bestowed on the Basilica of Senglea could create problems on the islands with other Collegiates.

      When the Pope bestows the title of Basilica to a church there has to be some special reasons. The church in question must also be of certain importance. The reasons why the Collegiate of Senglea was elevated to Basilica Minor are the following:

     a)      The church dedicated to the birth of Our Lady is a historical church because it was built as a monument in remembrance of the victory over the Moors in 1565 by our forefathers;

b)      The statue of Marija Bambina attracts a lot of devotion from the faithful. In fact it is the only statue crowed and the degree for the coronation was issued by the Vatican itself not from the diocese of Malta. Bishop Caruana, who crowned the statue of Our Lady, was only a delegate of the Vatican.

c)      The church of Senglea was an important church in the island for a very long time in fact way back on the 21st May 1786; Pope Pius VI had already elevated it to the title of Collegiate.

       The Pope reached the conclusion that the Collegiate of Senglea deserved to be honoured with the title of Basilica Minor because it had the necessary qualifications. The first person who came out with the idea of making the petition to the Pope was Canon Goffred Lubrano. He used the influence of his friend the Benedictine Dom Mauro Inguanez. Cardinal Vico presented the official request in front of the Pope.

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