SENGLEA THROUGH THE AGES – 64 & 65

 

Honour to the Holy Eucharist in the parish of Senglea

 

Corpus Christi in days gone by

 

     For many years the feast of Corpus Christi was celebrated in a very solemn way. Two processions were held one in the morning and one in afternoon. The morning procession was held in a more solemn way to that held in the afternoon. By 1881 many concluded that the afternoon procession had lost most of its importance, but nonetheless it continued to be held for some more years.

 

After the International Congress

 

     The International Eucharistic Congress was held in 1913 and this Congress attracted huge devotion towards the Holy Eucharist and this effect was felt for some years afterwards too. As from 1914 the civil authorities of Senglea were invited to take part in the Corpus Christi procession.

 

1931 – The first Eucharistic Congress

 

          For the first time in the history of our City, the parochial Eucharistic Congress was held in Senglea in 1931. Naturally a lot of preparations were needed to hold this Congress which was held in May and June. Usually these two months are renowned as dry and hot months. Unfortunately lot of rain fell during this Congress and some of the closing ceremonies were not held as planned. Some children were dressed up as Knights but their costume got wet and their colours started to run and so their costumes had to be made again.

 

     The Fraternity of the Blessed Sacrament was greatly involved in the organisation of this Congress. The Oratory was in need or an overhaul but the Arch priest Dun Gwann Bonanno felt that the parish could not afford the expenses needed for such a job. So a temporary rostrum was erected in Victory Street to be used for this Congress. Later on it was also used yearly during the feast of Corpus Christi.

 

     The climax of the Congress was reached between the 3rd and 7th June 1931. Three days of spiritual preparations were held. The Blessed Sacrament was transported in a most solemn way to the infirmed persons who could not leave their homes. There was continual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for whole days. Many talks were held to explain to the faithful the meaning of the Eucharist. The Congress was brought to an end by a procession led by the Bishop Mawru Caruana. After the procession the congregation present was blessed by the Blessed Sacrament during a ceremony held from beneath the rostrum in Victory Street.

 

An important feast

 

     As time went by only one procession started to be held and the people of Senglea used to take an active part in it. Unfortunately some problems cropped up which hardly had to do with the feast of Corpus Christi. The problems were about the right of precedence with the Collegiate of Senglea expected to have over other local Collegiate. These problems reached their peak in 1959 when two of the processions most dear to the hearts of the people of Senglea, namely that of Corpus Christi and that of the Holy Trinity, were cancelled.

 

     For some time there were other processions in Senglea dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament apart from that of Corpus Christi. One can name the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the one held at the end of the ‘kwaranturi’ (forty hours of continual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament spread out on three days). By time only the feast of Corpus Christi remained. Up to 1975 it used to be celebrated on a Thursday but from than on it started to be held on a Sunday. In the Cottonera area, Senglea gives the most importance to the feast of Corpus Christi as a feast of the Blessed Sacrament. In Vittoriosa they give more importance to the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and in Cospicua they celebrate with great pomp the end of the ‘kwananturi’ a feast which is also linked to the feast of Pentecost.

 

     The feast of Corpus Christi is a solemn manifestation shown by the faithful to the Blessed Sacrament and a feast which should be kept on for posterity as a sign of love and adoration towards the Body of Christ in the Holy Eucharist.

 

SENGLEA THROUGH THE AGES – 65

 

Two hundred years ago – Senglea’s deliverance from the hands of the French after two years of hardships

 

     Myriads of documents found at the archives of the Order of  St John, the National Library, the archives of Senglea kept by the Capitol of the church, other contracts kept in various places and some other writings show us in a clear way what Senglea went through during the two years of French occupation. An occupation which started with a promise of a better future but which eventually ended up creating lots of damage and sadness to the whole Maltese population.

 

Empty promises

 

      The French divided Malta into regions and Senglea was placed in the municipality called ‘the city of Malta of the East’. Cospicua and Vittoriosa were also included with Senglea in this newly set up municipality. The members of the municipality used to meet in a house in Senglea, which during the times of the Order was in the hands of the General Captain of the Galleys.

 

     We know of a young lad from Senglea who voluntarily offered himself to help the French. He was Mikiel Cini son of Benedittu.  Among the people who were trained in the use of arms there were some who also offered to help the French. These persons were not only good soldiers but were also capable of being leaders. So the French appointed some of them as officials and among them there was the Senglean Federiku Muscat.

 

     Senglea is better known for rising against the French than for the support it gave to the foreign occupants. On the 21st June 1798 the French authorities were informed that a plot was being set up in Senglea to over topple the French leaders.  From this report it was obvious that the Bishop of Malta, Mons Vincenzo Labini’s warning to the people of Senglea not to be stubborn with the French so as not to shed more blood, fell on deaf ears.

 

Not sure whether to collaborate or not

 

     The Canons of the Collegiate of Senglea were meeting very regularly to see what action they should take but after the 21st August 1798 they stopped their meetings. On the 3rd September, days before the feast of Marija Bambina, the French even took refuge in Senglea from the attacks being carried out against them by the people of Malta.  During the meeting held on the 21st August 1798, the Arch priest proposed that the representatives of the French Government be invited for the feast of Marija Bambina and the Canons agreed with this proposal. The French authorities had already been invited for the feast of St Lawrence in Vittoriosa.

 

     Relations between the Maltese and the French were getting worse day by day and the foreign occupants were already being considered as enemies of Malta. Unknown to the French, the people of Senglea and Vittoriosa had started digging up at least twenty four underground stores where grain could be stored in case needed during some upsurge against the foreign occupants. At the same time the French appointed the Senglean Marija Borg to distribute bread ration to each family of Senglea.

 

     By September 1798 the people of Malta started to attack openly the French and the later were finding themselves under siege. A harsh attack was carried out against the French on the 21st November 1798 and the French felt themselves under the cosh and they took refuge behind the Senglea bastions to escape the outrage of the Maltese.

 

     The 27th December 1798 was a sad day for Senglea because on that day the first Arch priest of our city, Can Dun Salv Bonnici passed away.

 

Victims from Senglea

 

     Dun Mikiel Xerri, in a letter he wrote on the 8th January 1799 tried to open the eyes of the Maltese who were collaborating with the occupants about their wrong doings. At the same time he reminded everyone that the attacks by the Maltese on the French were causing great harm to the Maltese too. In Senglea alone, the bombardments by Maltese soldiers destroyed seventy homes.  The people of Senglea were in great danger because the French ships were berthed in the creek between Senglea and Vittoriosa.

 

     Senglea too had its victims. In 1799, Ganni Fosca, Luqa Gagliardo and Geraldo Scarpetta were condemned and than executed by the French. Later on the families of these people were given fifteen skudi as compensation by the British.

 

     Certain traditions were nevertheless adhered to even during those terrible days. For Candlemas of 1799, the Canons offered the traditional candle to the French Governor Vaubois. Still the bells remained completely silent and nobody dared to disobey any command issued by the foreign occupants. The Maltese were not allowed to keep any arms at their homes. When the French found a sword in the home of the Senglean chemist, he was tried and executed on 19th February 1799.  It was in vain his plea that he forgot to hand over the sword to the authorities.

 

     Many aspects of life, such as morality, were taking a nose dive. Many women earned their living by prostituting themselves. The French made a bee hive for the female population of Senglea. In those days Senglea had the misfortune of having the bulk of the Maltese population in its midst. In April 1799 an edit was issued which requested each prostitute to be thoroughly examined by a doctor to certify that they were not carriers of some disease which could be transmitted to others.

 

Freedom brought a huge sign of relief

 

     1800 was a very troublesome year. No Arch priest had been appointed to lead the Parish. The French occupants wanted to expel the Oratorians from the Oratory of St Philip. The people of Senglea had already offered to house the Oratorians and keep their belongings had the expulsion order gone through, but the Provost of the Oratorians Dun Vincenz Cachia paid the French engineer one hundred and fifty skudi and the expulsion order was revoked.

 

     The bastions around Senglea suffered a lot of damage caused by the heavy bombardments during the early days of 1800,  but still the Maltese showed great courage in these circumstances. On the 2nd September 1800, the French decided that they had no option but to renounce their hold on the Maltese islands. On the following days some shots were exchanged between both sides but that marked the end of the hostilities. On the 6th September 1800 the French occupants left our islands. The feast of Marija Bambina was very near but the people of Senglea could not prepare as they wished to celebrate this feast. The feast, held just two days after the foreign occupants left our shores, was celebrated in a solemn devotional way only. They could not but thank Our Lady in whom they held such faith and to whom they had prayed so fervently for the past two years. So the Te Deum was solemnly recited and sang on the 14th September as thanksgiving to God for their liberation from their invaders. On the 15th September the feast of Marija Bambina was celebrated in Senglea in the usual manner. A canon and two priests passed away during the time of the French in Malta. This occupation meant a lose of money to many. Some homes were destroyed and others were requisitions by the French, which in turn than fell into the hands of the Government. On the 2nd December Dun Vincenz Cachia was appointed as the new Arch priest and he dedicated the remainder of his life to help Senglea and its people to rise again from the ashes.

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