Ta' Ġieżu Church spared from disaster, thanks to residents and Indian community

Valletta’s iconic Ta’ Ġieżu Church was spared from “major disaster” yesterday thanks to the presence of members of the Indian community at the time and the intervention of residents, who turned up armed with buckets and spades to counter a flood caused by Storm Harry. 

About 15 beltin braved the foul weather, arriving from other localities to heed the appeal of the Franciscan friars to assist in the flooding.

This was noticed by members of the Indian community, who happened to have a meeting in the church during the thunderstorms on Tuesday evening.

They alerted the friars to the imminent flooding of the baroque church in St John’s Street, home to a wealth of artistic treasures, including its crowning glory, the miraculous 17th-century crucifix by Umile Pintorno, and the painting of Our Lady of Sorrows by Stefano Erardi.

The Miraculous Crucifix in Ta' Ġieżu.

“If it were not for the Indian community, flooding in Ta’ Ġieżu Church would have been noticed the morning after and more damage would have been sustained,” said Fr Ramon Farrugia, guardian of the Franciscans in Valletta.

“They happened to be in the church for an important meeting with one of our priests, who came specifically from overseas,” he said, adding they were asked to continue with their programme, and the assistance of Valletta residents was sought instead.

In a Facebook post, the church appealed to them for their help “without putting themselves in danger”, asking them to bring along a squeegee, bucket and spade.

They arrived even from Qormi and Mosta, despite the thunderstorm – and those who could not, prayed, Fr Farrugia said, grateful for the timely intervention.

The situation was brought under control, the water collected and the church cleaned.

The Franciscan friars also thanked Valletta mayor Olaf Mckay, who promptly offered the local council’s assistance and on whose initiative the services of Bad Boy Cleaners were provided to wash the church floors again on Wednesday morning.

Fr Farrugia assured that the brown-coloured water in the church was not sewage, but rainwater mixed with soil streaming in from the roofs.

A “considerable amount” of water had entered part of the church before a problem in a pipe was identified and the flooding was stemmed.

Fr Farrugia put it down to a blockage caused by an external object ending up in the church’s drainage channels due to the strong winds and a large amount of rainfall. The water overflowed as it had nowhere else to go, and the shifting levels of the ground caused it to enter the church. Once the blockage was cleared, the inflow of water immediately stopped.

Extensive restoration works have been carried out in the Ta’ Ġieżu Church and the convent, and had this not been the case, it would have faced a major disaster, Fr Farrugia pointed out, thanking the person who helped in the emergency, Pierre Galea, for freeing up the blockage that caused the flooding.

“We would like to reassure everyone that this was not a maintenance issue, nor the result of a lack of further works, but rather a set of circumstances that occurred unexpectedly,” he clarified, thanking also the church’s architect, who was on site within a short time and remained there, assisting until all the water was cleared.

The Civil Protection Department also showed up to help, although the situation was already under control by then, and they were told to go where there was more urgency and need.

Flooding in the Ta' Ġieżu Church.

Also known as the Franciscan Church of St Mary of Jesus, Ta’ Ġieżu was designed by prominent architect Gerolamo Cassar and completed in 1571, undergoing lavish embellishment by the Grand Masters.

A must for lovers of fine art, it also features a number of gravestones, including that of the first victim of the 1813 plague.

But most artefacts were on raised platforms and out of reach of the water, Fr Farrugia said.

“And after Harry drove us crazy, God sent help and the church returned to normal,” he continued, thanking everyone for their support, including the church’s benefactors whose donations help maintain it.

Ta’ Ġieżu opened late on Wednesday morning due to more cleaning to eliminate traces of soil, the Franciscan friars announced on their Facebook page, which kept updating the public on the situation.