St Ubaldesca church

As always, I was very impressed by what was written about the church of St Ubaldesca. As a Pawlist since birth, I still take great interest in my home town even after an absence of some 54 years.

I was born and bred in Paola and St Ubaldesca's, in particular, holds sweet memories and nostalgia for me. Besides being baptised there I was also confirmed, but due to the many children for our First Holy Communion the function was held at the Girls' MUSEUM round the corner in Dockyard Street.

In the early Thirties I was privileged to give the child's sermon at Christmas - for three times. In those days we used to have a procession around the streets of Paola in the early evening followed by the sermon; then the same sermon was delivered at midnight Mass. I vividly remember those days and on Christmas Day I was also taken to the prisons to give the same sermon to the inmates.

I could go on and on, but all this came about because of the recent articles and letters by Giovanni Bonello, Joseph Falzon and by Gregory Gauci, who asked, among other things why he was baptised at St Ubaldesca church and not at Christ the King church because he was born in 1937 (The Sunday Times, October 30).

I think I have an explanation: according to a very good book published by Anton Quintano in 1985 Storja tar-Rahal Gdid, the Blessed Sacrament was transferred to the new church on Palm Sunday in 1936 but St. Ubaldesca was still functioning, so Masses and everything else went on as normal.

As a matter of interest the first parish priest to be installed at Christ the King parish church was Fr Frangisk Xuereb in March 1937. I do not know whether Mr Gauci was disappointed in having his head sprinkled at St Ubaldesca's, but for me it did not make a difference as both churches, one with more history than the other, are both in that splendid locality called Paola. Ah, sweet memories of home!