Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Government Owen Bonnici has visited the completed restoration works on the Chapel of St Catherine and St Anthony of Padua in Birkirkara. The works were carried out by the Restoration Directorate, which falls under the Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government, through the Local Council Restoration Works Scheme.

“This was yet another project which falls under the Local Council Government Scheme, an initiative which aims to help Local Councils to restore historic monuments and buildings in their locality, for the benefit and enjoyment of the members of our community,” stated Bonnici. Minister Bonnici made reference to the fact, that currently the Restoration Directorate is working on 71 projects simultaneously, in order to further enhance our local product. “One should also point out that the Restoration Directorate has already worked in 70% of our localities which keeps on strenghtening our identity,” Bonnici continued.

The church was built in 1828, however, historic documents point out that another church stood in its place from 1575, which was used until at least 1659.

Due to its location, works were split into phases. The first phase focused on the extensive restoration of the belfry, damages were observed and studied in detail. Pointing  and concrete based renders were removed and one could see the state of the masonry, in order to determine what kind of interventions were required. Some of the stonework’s fabric was severely deteriorated and was replaced. The second phase saw to the façade and its elaborate decorations on the portico and frontispizju. These were thoroughly cleaned and damages that came through time were repaired. The third and last phase concluded the works on the High Street’s façade, with the removal of cement based pointing which caused quite a lot of damage.