Paola’s parish priest is growing concerned after having received no word from the authorities on his plans to open a cafeteria on the roof of the church, but that did not stop him from organising a fundraising pizza night in the same spot on Saturday.

Fr Marc Andre Camilleri, who came under fire for proposing an eatery on the portico roof of Christ the King church, told Times of Malta last week that he was still waiting for feedback from the Planning Authority, the heritage watchdog and from Culture Minister Owen Bonnici.

At the height of the controversy in April, Bonnici had promised him the government would help him. In reply to questions he confirmed the government still intended to offer financial aid for restoration but was still in consultation with other entities over it.

Meanwhile, the priest has not changed his mind at all about the cafeteria and even hosted 120 seated people to a fundraising pizza night on the rooftop on Saturday.

After the pizzas were delivered, people dined between the two massive belfry towers while “enjoying the sunset, the view, the breeze and the fireworks of the village feasts of Luqa and Rabat”.

Fr Camilleri confessed that he wanted to demonstrate how much potential the rooftop holds. But it appears people were already convinced – tickets were sold out in 48 hours.

“I announced the dinner last Saturday and by Monday we were fully booked. I’ve never had that much positive response for a fundraising activity, which means people already appreciate the potential there is up here,” he said with a smile.

“I had to stop taking bookings and turn people away, as it was starting to get impractical to deliver food to the roof for that many people.”

After the pizza night’s success, he intends to hold similar events periodically. For now, he is not permitted to cook or prepare food within the church building but is using the roof as a gathering space nonetheless.

“It serves us well to enjoy the roof and raise some funds for the church’s upkeep,” he said.

Controversy and memes

The Paola church café has been surrounded by controversy and countless social media memes since the priest’s plans were revealed in April, when Prime Minister Robert Abela was among those who came out against the idea. 

But Fr Camilleri made great strides to win people over on the project when in a Times of Malta interview he explained in great detail the toll of running such a large building in desperate need of repair.

The café, he assured the public, would only be a small part of an unused space in the belfry and portico and would help bring in some income for the church. Besides, some of the greatest churches in Europe already house eateries on their roofs, he insisted.

The building’s most urgent requirements are the restoration of the dome, the portico and the damaged ceilings of the belfry.

‘Nobody has spoken to me’

Despite getting Bonnici assurances of help, Fr Camilleri has not heard back from any of the authorities and is getting worried.

“Nobody has spoken to me about the plans. I don’t know how long these things usually take, but I’m afraid it’s taking too long now,” he said.

“If there are parts of the plans we need to discuss or amend, we should, so we can get moving on the project.”

To reminders, Bonnici has told him he is awaiting some confirmations.

“I have received no reply and no help from him yet,” he said.

“The Cultural Heritage Superintendent came with him to visit the church, but again, nobody has gotten back to me yet.”

‘Government will help’

Contacted for comment, Bonnici confirmed the government intends to provide financial aid for particular restoration works and is “currently engaged in consultations with various entities” to provide the help.

The church merits assistance as it has “outstanding patrimonial value and is unique due to its sheer size”, a ministry spokesperson said.

But the ministry is against the rooftop café.

“The ministry believes that no catering outlet should be present on the church rooftop and other options should be entertained. Since consultations are ongoing with the church authorities, the ministry will comment further at a later stage,” the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, in correspondence with the Planning Authority in May, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage said it was objecting to the proposal as currently presented and that it had “notable concerns” about it.

It also said it was “in advanced discussions” with the priest and the Church’s cultural heritage commission to agree on a way forward – Camilleri told Times of Malta that nobody had approached him to discuss.

Questions sent to the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage remained unanswered by the time of writing.

Visitors served rooftop coffee

Meanwhile, Camilleri has finished restoration of one of the belfry towers and dismantled its scaffolding. 

He is about to start waterproofing the roof and to continue restoration of the small domes.

Notwithstanding the controversy, he had already served coffee on the rooftop three weeks ago, when he organised an open day for visitors to view the progress of works.

That was another massive success, he said.

“People visited throughout the day, and I had to turn visitors away at 9.30pm because the volunteers were exhausted by then,” he said.

“And we served the coffee to visitors for free, mind you!”