Tradition holds that the shipwreck of St Paul the Apostle in AD 60 occurred near what are today known as St Paul’s Islands. Nearly 1,800 years later, the Maltese erected a statue on these islands to commemorate the area where Christianity was brought to our shores.

According to Dr Stanley Farrugia Randon, in his book “Heritage Saved” published by Din l-Art Helwa in 2002, the statue of St Paul on St Paul’s Islands is the work of two sculptors, Sigismondo Dimech (1780-1853) of Valletta and Salvatore Dimech (1805-1887) of Lija, a scholar of Sigismondo.

The statue alone is about four metres high, and represents St Paul with his left hand holding the Bible resting over a double-edged sword, and with the right hand held high. At his feet lies the legendary snake emerging from the fire.

The statue stands on a platform 8.3 metres high, the work of Francesco Spiteri. On the platform, a marble slab inscribed in Latin chosen by the Latinist Dun G. Zammit (nicknamed Brighella) translates as follows:

‘To the Apostle St Paul, Master and Doctor of the Church of all People, Father and Patron of the Maltese. This statue is in the same place where he was shipwrecked - together with 275 others - on this island where he had to come and teach the faith of Christ, as his friend St Luke says in the Acts of the Apostles Cap. XXVII. Salvatore Borg, in memory of this event - in the year 1845 - worked hard for it to be erected’.

As early as 1843, various Maltese personalities, mainly a Salvatore Borg according to the inscription, were responsible to collect an overall sum of 1,654 scudi (c. Lm130 or EUR 303) by setting up subscription lists for people from all walks of life, including the nobility.

The statue was inaugurated and blessed on 21 September 1845 at 5pm. The parish priest of Mellieha as well as clergy from St Paul’s church in Valletta, were invited. Prayers were said and hymns were sung. The ceremony ended with shots fired from a cannon, after which the people returned home using kerosene lamps for light as it was already dark.

In April 1994, during an expedition organised by two members of the Youth Section of Din l-Art Helwa to clean St Paul’s Islands, it was noticed that the statue of St Paul was severely weather-beaten. The left arm carrying the Bible was about to fall off, and the right hand had two fingers missing. Erosion, visible all round, had taken its heavy toll, and huge cavities in every block made the whole structure precarious.

In 1996 Din l-Art Helwa took over the responsibility of the restoration of the statue and pedestal and works were soon in progress.

Timely intervention by Din l-Art Helwa saved another historical monument in stone which was about to crumble and be lost forever. To commemorate their 50th anniversary, Vassallo Builders Group of Companies, Corporate Members of Din l-Art Helwa, accepted to sponsor the initiative. Restoration was completed on 8 December 1996.

Since then the statue again suffered damages from weathering due to the adverse environmental conditions that it is exposed to. Vassallo Builders Group of Companies, this time to celebrate their 60th anniversary, again offered to sponsor the whole conservation of the statue, as well as the laborious task of erecting the scaffolding around it. The second restoration was completed on 13 October 2007.

Din l-Art Helwa is trying to increase membership. Be a guardian of Malta’s heritage by becoming a member. For more details send an e-mail to [email protected] indicating your name and forwarding address, or visit our website www.dinlarthelwa. org

Victor Rizzo is the honorary treasurer of Din l-Art Helwa

Photos by: Joseph Chetcuti

Aerial View – Courtesy of JM Publications