Amid the furore about Malta having its very own saint, who will be canonised on 3 June, very few people know where Dun Gorg Preca lived in Hamrun and know even less that his home is today a bingo/betting hall.

Dun Gorg lived in a house opposite the Hamrun Parish Church for several years. It was here that he had brought together a group of youths, which slowly grew to become the ‘Society of Christian Doctrine’, known as the M.U.S.E.U.M.

But the place that since the early 1920s was considered the home of Dun Gorg in Hamrun, has now become a bingo/betting hall managed by a betting company that is slowly developing into a chain of betting shops.

This was also brought up by Manuel Mangani, manager of Sedqa Services, who, in an interview with Sunday paper KullHadd, mentioned the irony of having the home of a saint turned into a bingo hall. Mr Mangani was interviewed about the growing concern of gambling in Malta.

Speaking to maltastar.com, a member of the M.U.S.E.U.M, who prefers to remain anonymous, said it was a shame, but there was nothing the Society could have done to prevent this from happening.

The only indication that it is Gorg Preca’s home, two months before the actual canonisation ceremony, is a simple plaque which ironically says: “So that time does not erase the memory of Mons Gorg Preca, who lived in this home for many years.”

While time will surely not erase the memory of Dun Gorg, very few people, who happen to lose hundreds of liri on bets or playing bingo inside the complex, should keep in mind that the very same building housed the man who is described as “a veritable light on these Maltese Islands.”

The above was written by Kurt Farrugia and appeared on Maltastar.com on 4 April. However, any search for the day’s issue of Maltastar does not turn up in the website and it is only by carefully tweaking the Search facility that one can get the article to appear on screen.