A TV interview with was held with Mons Emanuel Brincat, a former Archpriest of Senglea

      Q: Mons when Mussolini declared war against Britain and its Allies on the 10^th June 1939 what was the reaction of the residents of your parish of Senglea on the 11^th June when the first air raid warning was sounded?

      A: It was about 6.50 in the morning. The Canons of the Collegiate were in Church preparing to say Matins. The Church was full of people because they all heard the day before that Mussolini had declared war. We heard the first bombs coming down. They were earmarked for Cospicua but the explosions broke some glass panes of our Church. Panic reigned in the church and the Canons stopped saying the Matins. At first, I as Archpriest said that we should continue with our morning prayers but when I asked the Canons for their opinion they pointed out that there was a lot of confusion in the church and we were all in danger, so the service was stopped and all of us went into the Sacristy. I was approached by Canon Dun Arturo Bonnici, who later on was nominated as Monsignor and also became the Secretary of the Bishop and who at that time was the leader of the Canons, who told me: ‘I have not said Mass yet so please can you give me the Holy Communion’. I administered Holy Communion to him and he stayed with me while we tried to calm the people present and asked them to leave the church quietly and in an orderly manner so as not to create a stampede risking somebody getting injured especially some young ones. We managed to make the congregation leave the church quietly from the main door and through the door of the Oratory of the Crucifix.

      Q: The first reaction of the people of Senglea. Was it to evacuate the city?

      A: Their first reaction was to get out of the church. Naturally they all went home to be with their families. Once the attack was over many started to ponder on the idea of whether to leave Senglea which was not considered as a safe place to be in during these horrible war period or else risk it and stay put. The digging of shelters was already in hand but there was still much to be done. Many were of the opinion that they were not in danger. They thought that they could find refuge beneath the stairs or under a table. It was obvious that these solutions were not safe enough in fact even the shelters dug in the hard rocks could not provide total safety. There were shelters which caved in. So we had the first exodus of people from Senglea. Many took whatever they could carry with them and left on what means of transport they could lay hands on. Initially there were only about three hundred to four hundred persons who left our city.

      Q: Mons Brincat didn’t you decide to leave with them?

     A: How could I go with them? I was the Archpriest of Senglea and as long as there were any parishioners left in the city my place was to stay there.

      Q: Had the church of Senglea been hit by than?

      A: Up to than the church had not suffered any damage and we kept on using it until the Germans attacked on the 16^th January 1941.

      Q: We now go to that infamous day when the Germans took in their hands the offensive from the Italians. Senglea was one of the main targets. Do you remember what happened on that day?

      A: On the morning of the 16^th January 1941 I went to visit a priest who was a friend of mine but who has now passed away. He was Dun Karm Zammit and who than lived in Gudja. I was very uneasy and wanted to return back to Senglea as soon as possible. He pleaded with me to stay with him but I made it clear that I had to return to Senglea because that was my duty. I had not arrived in Senglea when the air raid warnings were sounded and all went to the shelters to seek refuge from the pending air attack. Up to than I had never been to a shelter instead I used to go to the church during an attack. By two in the afternoon bombs were raining from the skies. It was the first time that an air raid was conducted by the Germans and they showed that they meant business. Our Church was hit. The Chapel of the Rosary, the Capitulary Hall were hit and so three boys who were playing on the church parvis, the sexton and myself ran into the entrance by the church door which leads to the sacristy, and where the statue of Marija Bambina was stored, because we thought that it was a safe enough place to be in. We started to recite the Rosary. The noise was deafening and horrible. Once the first air raid was over the Capitulary Hall had already been destroyed. Suddenly we saw Dun Anton Grech coming towards us from the rubble of the Hall. He was all covered in dust. My thoughts than turned to the Blessed Sacrament which was kept in the Chapel next to the Chapel of the Rosary. The door was blocked with the debris which fell and I had to jump over the balustrades of the chancel. I took the Blessed Sacrament to the place where the statue of Marija Bambina was kept and we made our way to the shelters.

      Q: During the period January 1941 and April 1942 Senglea was continually under heavy bombardment and was cut off from the remaining parts of Malta because of the debris everywhere. What part did you plan in making sure that provisions reached those people who stayed put in Senglea?

      A: First of all on the 16^th January 1941 just after the air raid I was visited by Doctor Paul Boffa who was the District Commissioner. He told me to evacuate the residents of Senglea because more attacks were envisaged. We started to plan how to evacuate the people including the sick. We planned to bring trucks but the arched entrance to Senglea was blocked with fallen debris and we had to see how the people were going to leave our city. The attacks continued and we were completely cut off from the rest of the island and the residents asked me: ‘What are we going to do Archpriest?’ I told them that we must try to leave through the Dockyard doors which open on Gavino Gulia Square in Cospicua. We asked the Dockyard’s security man on duty so that he would let us through and he said that he would need the permission from the Superintendent of the Dockyard to let us through. This permit was long in coming. He told me to go and find shelter inside and I told him that if the people of Senglea were not going to be let also  I was not prepared to go in without them. At long last the permit was issued and we could pass through the Dockyard’s grounds. In Gavino Gulia Square we found some trucks waiting and I was asked what I was going to do. ‘Aren’t you coming too?’ I was asked but my reply was that as long as there were people still in Senglea my duty as Archpriest was to stay with them. All the Canons had left and the Vice Archpriest asked me ‘What am I going to do Archpriest’. I replied ‘I take full responsibility. You have a family and you are a young man. Go and look after the family’. He had his mother, auth and brother with him. Naturally I did not want to take further risks by making him stay in Senglea and so I was left on my own.