Watch: A voice warned him to 'take care'. It proved prescient

A year and a half ago, custodian Hershing Micallef went to say his usual morning prayers to Our Lady before his shift started at St John’s Co-Cathedral when he heard “a whisper” warning him to look after his health.  

Spooked by what he heard, he stood up and looked around. He was alone. But those words kept ringing in his mind: “Take care. Go get better”.

So when, four days later, he noticed a growth in his mouth, those words came back to him and he went to have it checked immediately. Doctors told him he had a rare aggressive cancer in his mouth and was lucky to have caught it at that stage.

“I believe this was a miracle… I believe Our Lady saved my life because she warned me,” says Micallef, 47, as he sits in the Chapel of Our Lady of Philermos within the co-cathedral. The chapel houses the icon known as Our Lady of Carafa, named after Fra Gerolomo Caraffa who commissioned it in the 17th century. 

Catching the cancer early meant it could be removed before spreading. A few months later, he was operated on in the UK with the support of the government, which paid the hospital fees, while the Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation covered other costs, including food, transport and accommodation, for him and his wife, Stephania, to be able to stay in the UK for two and a half months for outpatient treatment.

Now Micallef is sharing his story to encourage people to donate money to the MCCFF during the annual fundraiser L-Istrina that takes place on Boxing Day. 

He feels he was blessed, having found both the financial backing from the MCCFF and additional spiritual backing through his experience. 

“This is a very special place for me,” he says about the chapel. “This is where it all started and where hopefully it ended – I’m talking about a positive and negative adventure. Positive: because I learned so much. Negative: because I could have died,” he says as he goes on to share his story. 

“One morning, before my day as a custodian, I came and say a prayer here alone before opening to tourists. While praying, I felt someone talk to me and warm me. It was like whispers: ‘Take care. Go get better’. I looked behind me. There was no one. I was a bit scared. I stood up and left.” 

Later at home he told his wife about it and kept thinking about it. He says he was confused and did not believe it at first, but that same week, “things started happening”. He began feeling tired and fatigued and eventually resigned from the job he loved. 

“Not even four days had passed - I felt a lump in my mouth,” he says. It was at the back of his left upper teeth on the roof of his mouth. A friend took him to see a doctor.  

It was cancer, stage two. 

Within a few months, he was operated on at Guy’s Hospital in London, UK. During the six-hour operation, surgeons removed parts of the roof of his mouth and teeth, where the tumour was located. They then removed skin from his forearm together with arteries and replaced the removed skin inside his mouth. After about a week in hospital, he spent over two months living with Maltese Franciscan Sisters in London, whom he describes as “a heaven”. Thanks to the support of the MCCF, his wife could stay within him throughout, as her accommodation, and other costs, were also paid for.  

The image of Our Lady of Carafa at St John's Co-cathedral. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Micallef could not speak properly for about a year, during which time he underwent speech therapy. He is now back to himself and was welcomed back at the cathedral, where he was supported even financially during his illness. 

“I just appeal to people out there to help others and donate during L-Istrina. This time it was me, but it could be anyone. I know how much help is needed. Having a loved one with you when travelling for treatment is priceless and this is only possible thanks to the Malta Community Chest Fund. Another appeal I have is to find space for spirituality in life,” he says. 

New MCCFF offices 

The Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation assists people going through difficult social challenges, people requiring specialised medical assistance, and those with disabilities requiring specialised equipment and therapies. 

Its recently inaugurated new offices, located at the President’s Palace in Valletta, offer full access to persons with disabilities. The offices include cubicles where trained staff meet applicants and assist them with their applications, together with a private room where professionals can speak with applicants in confidence. 

The offices receive people on Mondays and Wednesdays between 9am and 12pm. The MCCF also has an office at the Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre, open from Monday to Friday between 9am and 1pm, and an office in Gozo situated at level 2, The Brokerage, St Martha Street, Victoria, open from Monday to Friday between 3pm and 6pm. 

On December 26, the largest telethon, L-Istrina, now in its 30th edition, in aid of the MCCF will be televised on all local TV channels from noon to midnight.