An organisation that takes care of decorations for the Marsa Holy Trinity feast is warning it will have to dispose of "historical" items built by festa enthusiasts if the parish insists on vacating the hall where they are being stored.
Marsa's Għaqda Festi Esterni Santissima Trinità sounded the alarm on Monday, saying it had been given one month to vacate a store room it was allowed to use for the past 40 years.
In a judicial letter dated January 10, Provincial Ivan Scicluna told James Attard and Edward Portelli, president and secretary general of the association, to vacate the premises on Triq Balbi, within a month.
According to the letter, the association had no legal right to occupy the hall.
Scicluna also warned that unless they were helping vacate the premises, they should not allow anyone inside the hall, because - as they have already been informed - the roof of the property was in a dangerous state. In the letter, Scicluna says the association was at fault for the roof's state and they would be personally liable in case of an accident.
In a statement on Monday, Marsa's Għaqda Festi Esterni Santissima Trinità said the group has been using the premises as a storeroom for 40 years.
It was the Franciscan Capuchin Friars Minor who, 40 years ago had asked for the feast decorations to be transferred to Jhansi Hall, as they no longer wanted the items to be stored at their convent.
They claimed that for decades, the hall's maintenance was carried out by the organisation's members "with great sacrifice".
It said that although in recent years it secured another store, the Jhansi Hall remained "crucial" as the group not only stored decorations there but also carried out maintenance of the items built by their predecessors.
If the Provincial persisted in vacating the premises and opted for further court action, the association would have to "dispose of historical and artistic decorations" because of lack of space.
"These decorations were created by volunteers with funds collected from the associations' members and the people of Marsa. They have always been used for the Holy Trinity feast in full collaboration with the parish led by the Franciscan Capuchin Friars Minor."
The association, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year, urged the provincial to reconsider his decision "in the best interest of the feast of the Holy Trinity and the people of Marsa, who, with their donations, were instrumental in the building of the same Jhansi Hall".