Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Friary, Sliema

The church and friary known as Madonna tas-Sacro Cuor in Sliema owe their origins to a Maltese priest by the name Dun Pawl Vella, who came out with the idea of building another church in Sliema, which would serve the needs of an increasing population in an area some distance away from the parish church of Stella Maris built in 1853-1877. Dun Pawl wanted the new church to be dedicated to Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore di Gesù. A recourse was presented in 1877 and a committee ad hoc was formed with Dun Pawl as its president. On 3 June 1877 the foundation stone of the new church was laid. The new church was blessed on 26 June 1881. The building of the church was not without incidents and tension, given that the builders had to rebuild the columns because of structural defects and there was oppostion from the clergy of the parish of Stella Maris, who did not consider the building of a new church in Sliema necessary. On 25 June 1881, the eve of the blessing of the new church, the titular statue of the Madonna tas-Sacro Cuor was brought from St. Ursola Monastery in Valletta. It is the work of Girolamo Darmanin. Two crowns were placed on the Madonna and Child in 1949. On 29 September 2018 Archbishop Charles Jude Scicluna officially crowned the statue of the Madonna and Child. Works of art in the church include the painting on the apse depicting the Immaculate Conception by Giuseppe Calì (1892) and the paintings of St. Jerome (1881), St. Lawrence (1881), St. Joseph (1882), Our Lady of Mount Carmel (1897) and St. Vincent Ferrer, all by Calì. An artistic pulpit was erected in the church in 1936. The church was handed over to the Franciscan friars by Dun Pawl Vella in 1881 when Fr. Anton Maria Cesal was Custos, after long discussions with the Bishop and Cathedral Chapter regarding property rights. The first fraternity settled in the Sliema friary on 13 November 1881. Dun Pawl Vella, the founder of the Madonna tas-Sacro Cuor church, died on 17 December 1883 when he was just 54 years old. After another period of tension with the first parish priest of Stella Maris Dun Vinċenz Manchè, who was opposed to a new parish in Sliema, Bishop Dom Mauro Caruan OSB decided to establish the parish of the Madonna tas-Sacro Cuor on 29 September 1918. In 1930 the church was enlarged and the façade and dome we see today were built. The whole project was ready in 1936. On 1 April 1942 the church and friary were heavily damaged during enemy action and a friar, Fr. Diegu Galdes, was killed, while the parish priest, Fr. Ġorġ Scerri, together with other friars were buried in the rubble before being rescued. The restoration of the church and friary was undertaken after the war under the direction of architect Ġużè D’Amato. The church was consecrated by Archbishop Mikiel Gonzi on 30 November 1950 and has been declared a Sanctuary of the Virgin Mary by Archbishop Scicluna.

Historical information: Ġorġ Aquilina OFM, Il-Franġiskani Maltin (Ta’ Ġieżu), Malta 2011.

Eżerċizzi tar-Randan

• Kulħadd filgħodu, l-Ewwel ġimgħa tar-Randan fil-Quddiesa tad-9.00am.
• Kulħadd filgħaxija, kull nhar ta' Sibt tar-Randan fil-Quddiesa tal-5.00pm.

Ħinijiet tal-Uffiċċju Parrokkjali

• Kull nhar ta' Tnejn, 5.00pm sas-6.30pm
• Kull nhar ta' Erbgħa, 9.45am sal-10.45 am.

Ħinijiet tal-Katekiżmu, ħdejn l-Uffiċċju Parrokkjali

• Sena 1,2 u 3, kull Tnejn, 5.00pm sas-6.00pm.
• Sena 4 u 5, kull Ħamis, 5.00pm sas-6.00pm.

Katekiżmu, fiċ-Ċentru S.Antnin

• Sena 6, kull Erbgħa, 5.30pm sas-6.30pm.