Many are the diocesan and religious priests who attended the Carmelite Secondary school and I am writing this article as a Carmelite Friar as well as a former Mount Carmel College Student.
We can say that the Carmelite school has passed through three phases. The first was at its inception, when it was named Schola Mariano Apostolica; the second was when the school became Mount Carmel College and the third came about when the name of the college name changed to Saint Elias College.
It was with great joy that, on 29 October 1944, the Carmelite Province formally opened the institution Schola Mariano Apostolica. At the beginning the purpose of the school was to educate those children who felt the calling to become Carmelite friars. At first these children were only taught subjects that were not taught in public schools such as Latin, Italian, Singing and other subjects that were required for priestly and religious vocations.
The plan was that at a later stage a new college would be built for the students where they could be taught all subjects under one roof. The Carmelite school began operating in the Carmelite Priory in Valletta on the top floor of the old novitiate, which at the time served as trial quarters for the first year students aspiring to become Carmelite friars. The first friars to teach in the school were Fr Lawrence Sammut, Fr Redent Gauci, Fr Allessandru Busuttil and Kerubim Farrugia. Later on several other friars began teaching at the school.
In 1952, the Schola Mariano Apostolica, which was located in the Valletta Carmelite Priory, moved to Chateau Lonz in Saint Joseph’s Street, Hamrun (at the time, this part of Santa Venera formed part of Hamrun). The first entrance exams were held on the 22 and 23 of September 1952 and in May that same year, the Provincial Chapter decided that, upon his return from his studies in Rome, Fr Emmanuel Gatt O.Carm would become the new rector of the college.
In the first year, when the college was at Chateau Lonz, there were about 60 students in addition to the rector and seven other friars. The work of Fr. Emmanuel was to bring this college up to par with other secondary schools of the time. For this reason, on 22 July 1955, the Prior Provincial Fr Carmel Vella wrote to the Archbishop of Malta Msgr. Michael Gonzi requesting permission to open a new school under the name of Mount Carmel College for students of every social class. With permission granted by the Archbishop, Fr Emmanuel then wrote to the Education Director J.P. Vassallo requesting permission to open this new school. Permission was granted on 18 November 1955.
In the June of 1967, the Prior Provincial Fr George Borg, together with his council, decided to build the college in the Santa Venera, Carmelite Priory garden and to be constructed with all the necessary moden facilities of the time. The College opened its doors to students in October 1970 and was officially blessed by the Prior Provincial Fr Gustin Sant on 28 December 1971. Due to the high demand from the growing number of students, the College premises needed enlarging. As a result, a second floor was added in 1974. The new building comprised various facilities such as a library, music chamber, a canteen and a gym. In 1994 new apparatus was bought for the Physics laboratory.
On 6 January 1998, the rector Fr Charles Mallia O.Carm wrote to the Prior Provincial Fr Amadeo Zammit to ask to study the possibility of changing the name of the college. The Provincial, together with his council, granted the request for the name to be changed from Mount Carmel to Saint Elias College since the Carmelite Province is under the protection of the Prophet Saint Elias.
Today St Elias College has various modern facilities including, a library, laboratories for computer studies, biology, physics, hemistry and home rconomics, learning centres, offices, a hall, a staff room, a gym, a games room, an art room, a reading room and a chapel.
There is much to be said about this college and the ongoing activities that take place but I will not delve any further in this article. However, something worth mentioning is that for the past few years St Elias College has been participating in EkoSkola, the aim of which is for students to become accustomed to respecting creation and the surrounding environment, from a young age, while contributing and striving towards achieving sustainable development. This programme is being integrated into their study curriculum in order to become part of their formal education and be put into practice.
I take this opportunity to congratulate the rector Fr Jurgen Cucciardi and all the staff at the College for their beneficial work in aiding the students.
Fr Hermann Duncan O.Carm
Balluta