The Sacro Cuor parish in Sliema is celebrating its 125th anniversary, though historian Winston L. Zammit says the parish is actually celebrating three anniversaries: the opening of the church, the arrival of the statue on June 26 and the arrival of the Franciscan Minors in November of the same year.
Construction on the original church began on June 3, 1877, on the initiative of Fr Pawl Vella, a priest who hailed from Valletta. He had always planned to hand over the church to the Franciscans when it was completed and in November of that year Provincial Custodian Tonin Cesal took over.
Though Fr Pawl kept a detailed day-to-day account of the construction in a register entitled Cenni Storici, it is not known how much the church cost to construct. "There was a lot of free labour, with people devoting time to help build the church over a three-year period," Mr Zammit says.
The biggest hitch seems to have cropped up when one of the main pillars of the church succumbed during construction and tension mounted when it was feared that a large chunk of the building would collapse. The problem was remedied and there were no other major problems during construction.
The Stella Maris parish up the road already existed when the Sacro Cuor parish was set up but Sliema was growing fast at the time and the need for a second parish was felt. Following the establishment of the Stella Maris parish in 1878, Sacro Cuor was declared a parish in 1918, St Gregory in 1940 and Nazzarenu in 1973.
The papier machè statue of Our Lady still held at the Sacro Cuor was made by Glormu Darmanin. Guido Lanfranco, who carried out research about Mr Darmanin over 100 years after his death, discovered that he was from Senglea and that he died at the age of 45, a year after the statue was taken to the new Sliema parish church.
He had however, completed it much earlier and the statue was kept by the sisters of St Ursula, in Valletta, for some time. It is known that Mr Darmanin had also made the statue of St Joseph found in Zebbug and other statues found in Senglea, Naxxar, Hamrun, Tarxien and Gharb.
Mr Zammit says the Sacro Cuor feast is very much alive and celebrations are akin to those that take place in the villages. Compared to this, the other feasts in Sliema are on the quiet side, he said.
The feast has been held without interruption since 1881. In the early years, until 1910, it was celebrated indoors with no procession. However, once this started being held in 1911 there was no stopping them, save in 1941 and 1942 due to World War II.
The church was damaged by enemy action and the Franciscan convent was destroyed. The church even lost its large chandeliers that had been used only once.
There were several alterations and additions to the edifice over the years. The dome was added between 1930 and 1936. The church was also enlarged and a new façade built.
Among its treasures are two paintings by Guiseppe Calì, which are considered to be among his best works. The roof panels are by Paul Camilleri Cauchi.
Programme of activities
The Feast Commission of the Parish of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, together with the Franciscan community, will hold a programme of activities to commemorate the three anniversaries.
The programme starts today at 7.30 p.m. with an oratorio entitled Madonna tas-Sacro Cuor. Lyrics are by the late Franciscan poet Fr Marjanu Vella OFM and music by Joseph Vella.
The oratorio is about the important moments in the history of the parish 125 years ago. It will be performed by the National Orchestra under the baton of Mro Joseph Vella with the participation of tenor Brian Cefai, Soprano Georgina Gauci and baritone Joe Huber together with the Laudate Pueri Choir and the Drama Troupe Choir under the direction of Gillian Zammit.
The Feast Commission is also publishing a book entitled Tifkira Ta' Grajjiet Ewlenin f'Tas-Sliema 1881-2006, in which Winston L. Zammit, Fr Joseph Vella OFM and Fr George Aquilina OFM write about the historical events.
On Monday, being the 125th anniversary of the opening and blessing of the church and the arrival of the statue of Our Lady, a pilgrimage with the statue along the streets of the parish will take place in the same way celebrations took place 125 years ago.
The festivities will run until July 2.