Fr Hermann Duncan O.Carm
If we look around the various churches on our Maltese islands, we will find that many of them have a picture or a painting of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. This popularity stems from the Carmelite Friars who came to Malta around 1418 (or before). They strove to spread the devotion towards the Holy Carmelite scapular.
As the devotion began to spread around Malta, the Carmelites felt the need to build a Priory in the centre of the community to continue spreading this devotion. When Valletta was being built soon after the Great Siege, Fr. Ġwann Vella asked the Order of the Knights to grant the Carmelites a piece of land where they could build a Priory and a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. At the time the Grandmaster Pietro del Monte was ruling the Order in Malta and he willingly accepted their request. The contract was signed on the 27 July 1570.
That same year, Fr. Ġwann Vella commissioned the Engineer Girolamo Cassar to build the Church and Priory. Meanwhile, as works were underway, the public would hear mass in a small chapel. There is a detailed account of what the provisional church contained, in the account of the Pastoral visit of Bishop Dusina in February 1575. This Church was dedicated to The Annunciation and served as the first Parish of Valletta.
The Church designed by Girolamo Cassar took around 38 years to build and was eventually finished in 1608. The Knight's Order helped greatly in the building of the church and many Knights built the lateral chapels. The design of the church was rather simple: it had a wide nave and lateral chapels with ten altars, it was 150 feet long and 50 feet wide, with a low dome and a belfry. However the main church ceiling, the dome and the chapels were painted by famous artists. The church was consecrated on the 6th of April 1886 by the Apostolic Administrator Msgr. Antonio Buhagiar.
On the 4th of March 1942, during the Second World War Valletta was badly bombed and the Church suffered heavy damage. As a result, the Friars took a decision to build a new one, and on the 30th of April 1958 construction work started. The Prior General who was attending the Provincial Chapter at the time, blessed the foundation stone of this Church following the plans of Guzè Damato. The church building was finalized on 15 June 1981 and was blessed by the Prior Provincial Fr. Manwel Gatt.
In this Basilica Sanctuary we find a beautiful statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel made of wood that was sculpted in Naples in 1781. This statue has a lovely artistic pedestal, made of silver designed by Abram Gatt from Cospicua. The plinth and the wooden base that supports this statue have intricate inlaid wood. During the feast, this statue is placed under a red velvet canopy. This sacred figure is decorated with various ornaments that show strong devotion of the people towards Our Lady. Not so long ago, the statue was restored by the artist Publius Magro. A niche was also created in the Basilica Sanctuary for the statue to be placed in.
Another important work of art in this church is the crowned painting of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, crowned in 1881. After the coronation of this painting, at the request of the Carmelites, a decree was signed by Pope Leon XIII on the 13th of May 1895 for the church to be raised to the dignity of Minor Basilica.
There are many people who have recourse to this Sanctuary for Our Lady of Mount Carmel's help. Let us therefore pray to Her to intercede for us before Her son Jesus and grant us all the graces we require in the difficult moments of our life.