Caritas Gozo will be having new premises. These will be inaugurated and blessed by Bishop Anton Teuma on Friday. The house is located in the middle of Triq Sant’Ursula, just after leaving Pjazza Savina in the direction of Ta’ Pinu.
The premises formerly housed Trionfi clinic, the first and, for decades, the only private clinic in Gozo, called Trionfi after Karm Trionfi (1872-1940), a bachelor from Vittoriosa who came to Gozo as secretary to the Commissioner for Gozo.
After a while, Trionfi decided to settle on the island and acquired a spacious house where he lived together with his four sisters. One of them was married to an Irish widower, who adopted a girl, Mary Brown.
Trionfi bequeathed his house to his sisters. When the last Trionfi sibling passed away on August 3, 1951, Mary became its sole owner.
In the meantime, she became a nursing nun, changing her name to Sister Beninja. After some time, Sister Beninja was elected Superior General of the Dominican Sisters, whose congregation was established in Gozo in 1889.
Eventually, Sister Beninja passed on the house to the congregation. Bishop Joseph Pace encouraged the sisters to transform it into a clinic, having an operating theatre and other facilities. The clinic was inaugurated by Bishop Pace on Easter Monday, April 14, 1952.
In his inaugural address, Bishop Pace appealed to the medical doctors present for the inauguration to offer their services for the good of Gozitans. Forty-three operations were performed there up to the end of 1952; and 108 by the end of the first year. But lack of space prevented the sisters from accepting more patients. The clinic operated last in March 1974, when it was transferred to a more spacious place next to the mother house of the congregation.
The house was later turned into a residence for the elderly. Under the direction of Mother Carmelita Borg, it was modernised and served its purpose until lately.
The house then became the property of the Cathedral Chapter through an exchange with another property and the diocese decided to transfer Caritas Gozo to this building.
The house will be run by Diaconia delegate Jimmy Xerri. Mgr Xerri spent 17 years at the missions in Brazil and 14 years as archpriest in Nadur.
Mgr Jimmy Xerri’s office.