Fr Hilary, what first drew you towards the priesthood?

I come from Tarxien and when I was a 12-year-old boy the Augustinians set up a convent here. Although I was still a young boy, I was impressed by their dedication and lack of conceit. They mingled with everybody and anybody.

Later on, I started going to private Latin lessons with one of the Augustinian priests and thus I was attracted to the vocation. I was merely 16 years old when I had my first experience of Augustinian life. Two years later, I left for Rome where I finished my studies at the Gregorian University. I was ordained in Rome in 1958 and next year I will celebrate my 50th year as an Augustinian priest.

What do you feel is so special about the Augustinian charisma?

The more I come to know St Augustine, especially through his Confessions, the more I want to emulate this charisma. St Augustine was a very friendly and highly sociable person. Indeed, his first community was formed from among his friends. He even wrote a book about friendship. I think the importance of friendship is very evident within the Augustinian community and personally this leaves me very fulfilled.

What were your first duties as an Augustinian priest?

Back from Rome, I was posted to my home town, at the Oratory. Malta, in the 60s was very turbulent, especially because of the clashes between the Malta Labour Party and the Church. Priests were treated suspiciously and there was antagonism against the church. At that time, there gathered around me a great number of children who all came to the Oratory to play football. Football was the common factor for these children, all coming from families with different political views. Eventually I got involved with the Government Sports Board and I started the Under-16 Football League.

Around this time, I also started coaching the Hibernians football team. My involvement with the Hibs lasted 10 years. Forty years ago, it was even less of a common sight to see a priest playing football. I attended coaching courses both in Malta and overseas, in England.

How were you involved with sports journalism in Malta?

After my years as Hibernians Coach, I ventured into sports journalism. In fact, I spent many years as a sports editor of Il-Haddiem and Il-Hajja. As an accredited sports journalist, I attended eight World Cup Finals and six Olympic Games. As a sports journalist, I covered all sporting activities. I also took over from Louis Portelli on TVM’s Sunday sports show – Sports il-Hadd – and I spent 20 years on the programme. In addition, I was the co-founder of the Sports Writers Association in Malta and I played an instrumental role in having the association accredited by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS). Two very memorable moments as a sports journalist were meeting the footballers Maradona and Pele.

Besides sports journalism, were you involved in other sporting endeavours?

Yes, in 1972, I became heavily involved with the Educational Sports Centre. I had this vision of giving school children an opportunity to practise sport aside from school hours. This Centru Sport Edukattiv was at the Marsa Sports Ground, which had then been vacated by the British. We started out with football, basketball, athletics and gymnastics. Our aim was to bring the best children of Malta to this place to practise sport after school hours. We recruited the top 10 to 16-year-old students and gave them professional training. Football was the most popular sport and at one point we had 500 students in all. From this Sports Centre we produced the best players of football and basketball in the past 20 years. At one point the national football team had nine graduates from the Centru Sport Edukattiv.

After this, that is in the 1980s, I became occupied with the Malta Football Association, especially at the Technical Centre at Ta’ Qali. From the Centru Sport Edukattiv and the MFA technical centre evolved today’s 47 nurseries that can be found in practically every town and village.

I think nurseries are very important for the six to 17- year-old age group as the present ongoing competition for Under-14s and Under-16s. The Under-10s are not left out – they have festivals and tournaments. In all, around 12,000 Maltese

children are involved in the events and there are roughly 250 children in each

nursery.

To this day, I am still the President of the Youth Football Association, which I started 25 years ago. All the nurseries are members of this association, that organises competitions and various other events. Admittedly, my time is limited and so over the years my presence has decreased.

In a few days time there will be the election of the President of the Malta Football Association. You have been connected with the MFA for so many years. How do you see this

election?

Yes, I have been connected with MFA for many years in one way or other and in a certain sense I am still connected, as I am the president of the Youth Football Association that is affiliated to the MFA. I remember having worked with Genju Bonello, Dr Gogo’ Mifsud Bonnici, Dr Gorg Abela and the current president, Dr Joe Mifsud. They all have worked very hard for the game in Malta and they have given a great deal to football.

But I believe that when somebody remains in a position for many years, and the current president has remained the longest that I remember – 17 years – it is always good to have a change. I also believe that Norman Darmanin Demajo – who is contesting for president this year, as an ex– football player with great experience, although he is young – has the game of football in his blood. He is much respected and can take up the post efficiently, if the clubs and local football want him. It is up to them.

What happened after you moved away from direct involvement with sport?

In 1998, after I quit sports journalism, I was posted to Paceville. Observing the Paceville nightlife, I noticed that something was missing. I used to meet many young people, on their way to the less populated parts of Paceville who needed some quiet time. They would come down here just to talk or think.

I shared my idea of building an appropriate centre with Richard England who immediately understood my vision and dreams. Many Church people were initially quite sceptical but eventually the idea caught on and the chapel was ready by December 2000. Basically, the chapel is an oasis of peace and quiet in a very busy area. People in need of refuge and assistance can always find help here. We call it a pit stop for inner peace! The Millennium Chapel and its companion centre WOW – Wishing Others Well – not only caters for Catholics who want to pray, it caters for everybody, whatever their religion might be. It’s a place to recharge the spiritual battery.

We also offer professional help to people who are suffering from different addictions, whether it is gambling, drugs or alcohol. Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous both meet here. The aim is to offer a refuge to all who seek it.

This centre is run by Augustinian priests with the great help of lay people. Mr John C. Grech is the chairman of the Millennium Chapel Foundation.

At the Millennium Chapel we also give out food bags to people in need. We cannot offer money, but we can offer weekly bags full of good nutritious food. There are many families, quite a few of which are single parent families, who face great difficulty in paying the rent, electricity bills and, when the need arises, buying medicine.

The groups who come to the Millennium Chapel give us this food or else we purchase food with the money they donate. The Eucharist is not only about adoration and feeling cosy and fulfilled but also about being sensitive to the needs of others.

The Millennium Chapel also offers WOW experiences. Since the opening of the Millennium Chapel, several youth groups and school groups have asked to spend a few hours at the Chapel.

Previously, although we would comply with their request, we did not really have the necessary facilities and we would rely on nearby hotels for catering and meeting rooms. Now, with the WOW centre flourishing, there are half-day activities for 14 to 16-year-old students, known as the WOW Experiences.

We have groups coming in from different schools on a daily basis from mid-November to Christmas, then again from mid-January to Easter. Each day starts in prayer, and then we have a PowerPoint presentation on some poignant topic, be it alcohol, relationships, money management or life skills.

At the end of the day, the students leave WOW flowers, signed by themselves, as pledges that they will do their best to uphold all they have learnt. From the feedback provided by the students, we know that they are having a whale of a time!

Another group that meets at the Chapel is LIFT – Living In Friendship Together – under the care of Fr Ray Francalanza. St Augustine believed that God could be best discovered in the company of friends, and that is how LIFT chooses to serve God.

I would like to point out that the Millennium Chapel would be nothing without an astonishing miracle – the Welcomers. The Welcomers are our group of around 120 volunteers who work on a roster. These people devote some hours every week. Our professional counsellors are, in fact, all volunteers, as are the people who organise the food bags and the people who man the reception.

Fr Hilary Tagliaferro was born on 28 October 1934. He entered the Augustinian Order in 1950 and was ordained on 22 March 1958. In 1972, he founded the Centru Sport Edukattiv, in 1982 the Youth Football Association and in 2000 the Millennium Chapel.

He comes from a family of five and has two sisters and two brothers, who unfortunately have both passed away in the past two years due to cancer. Fr Tagliaferro’s passions are all sports, especially football, and music – in particular classical music and jazz. He also loves swimming.

In 2002 he received the Order of Merit and in 2005 he was inducted into the Malta Olympic Games Hall Of Fame.