Patrick Comerford
I was in Malta last week, and in Valletta it seems as though every street – or every second street – inside the walls of the capital of Malta, is named after a saint.
I am in Dublin Airport this morning, catching a flight to Birmingham to attend to some family matters. But, before a busy day begins, I am taking some time early this morning for prayer, reflection and reading.
I have been continuing my Prayer Diary on my blog each morning, reflecting in these ways:
1, Reflections on a saint remembered in the calendars of the Church during the Season of Christmas, which continues until Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation (2 February);
2, the day’s Gospel reading;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.
This week, I am continuing to reflect on saints and their association with prominent churches or notable street names in Malta, which I visited last week. Yesterday (25 January 2022) was the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, and I was looking Saint Paul’s Church at Saint Paul’s Bay, on the north coast of Malta. I am continuing to look at Maltese connections this morning (26 January), reflecting on a visit to Saint Paul’s Co-Cathedral (Anglican) in Valletta last week.
Saint Paul's Pro-Cathedral (Il-Pro-Katridral ta’ San Pawl) in Independence Square, Valletta, is officially the Pro-Cathedral and Collegiate Church of Saint Paul. It is an Anglican pro-cathedral of the Diocese in Europe situated in Independence Square, Valletta.
Saint Paul’s is a pro-cathedral in the Anglican Diocese in Europe, and one of three cathedrals of the Anglican Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe. The main cathedral of the diocese is Holy Trinity Cathedral, Gibraltar, and there is a second pro-cathedral, Holy Trinity Cathedral, in Brussels.
The cathedral was commissioned by the Dowager Queen Adelaide during a visit to Malta in the 19th century, when she learned there was no place of Anglican worship on the island. Before her visit, Anglican services were held in a room in the Grand Master’s Palace.
Saint Paul’s was built on the site of the Auberge d’Allemagne, or the conventual home of the German Knights Hospitaller. The cathedral was designed by William Scamp and was built in 1839-1844.
Queen Adelaide laid the foundation stone on 20 March 1839 and her banner hangs above the choir stalls. The original plans were designed by Richard Lankasheer. However, when the building proved unstable, work had to resume on plans by William Scamp in 1841. Scamp's designs located the altar on the west side of the church, but the Bishop of Gibraltar had a more conservative view. The designs were altered, and Scamp designed an apse inside the great doors to hold the sanctuary on the east side.
The cathedral is built with Maltese limestone in a neo-classical style. The cathedral has columns with capitals of the Corinthian order while the capitals of the six columns of the portico are of the Ionic order. The internal dimensions of the building are 33.5 metres x 20.4 metres.
The cathedral is a landmark in Valletta, thanks to its spire rising to a height of over 60 metres, and is clearly visible in the Marsamxett Harbour.
During World War II, the cathedral suffered minor damage and the roof collapsed, but most of the structure remained intact. During restoration works, the original designs by Scump started to take shape. A quire and rood screen were built on the west side of the cathedral. A pulpit was also incorporated with the screen dedicated to Sir Winston Churchill.
The organ above the entrance to the cathedral came from Chester Cathedral. The one-manual instrument was built in 1684 by Bernard Smith. There is a long-held tradition that it was played by George Frederick Handel when he was on his way to Dublin for the first public performance of his Messiah. It is said Handel carried out some final rehearsals to fine-tune some of the choruses in Chester Cathedral in 1742. The organ has been changed and rebuilt several times, most recently by Kenneth Jones of Dublin.
The painting behind the High Altar, Ecce Homo, is the work of AE Chalon and was donated in 2014. The oak panels around the High Altar are a memorial to the Allied units that took part in the defence of Malta in 1940-1943. Twelve flags in the aisles represent, among others, the Royal Air Force, the British Merchant Navy, and the Royal Navy.
The new chancery was dedicated by Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher of Canterbury on 2 December 1949 in the presence of Princess Elizabeth. The east side of the cathedral was then transformed into a baptistry.
The undercroft was built from the remains of the basement of the Auberge d’Allemagne, but was never used. Bishop Nugent Hicks of Gibraltar opened the undercroft as a new parish hall in 1928. Ten years later, it was transformed into a gas-proof air raid shelter in 1938. The shelter was used in the early days of World War II by the chaplain, his wife and scores of Maltese citizens.
A project to restore Saint Paul’s Cathedral and the steeple was launched five years ago, with the aim of raising €3 million. When I visited the cathedral last week, much of the building was still covered in cladding and scaffolding.
Saint Paul’s Cathedral is listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.
Mark 4: 1-20 (NRSVA):
1 Again he began to teach beside the lake. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the lake on the land. 2 He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’ 9 And he said, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’
10 When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, ‘To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; 12 in order that
“they may indeed look, but not perceive,
and may indeed listen, but not understand;
so that they may not turn again and be forgiven”.’
13 And he said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. 17 But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. 20 And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’
The Prayer in the USPG Prayer Diary today (26 January 2022) invites us to pray:
Today is the feast of both Saint Timothy and Saint Titus. May we discern our roles in the Church and commit to them, whether in positions of leadership or as faithful members of the laity.
Yesterday: Saint Paul’s Church, Saint Paul’s Bay
Tomorrow: Saint Paul’s Cathedral, Mdina
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
