The Augustinian Fathers have two convents in Paceville - the St Rita Convent up on the hill and the Our Lady of Good Counsel down the road from the Hilton in the midst of Paceville.

The latter, with its modern architecture, is a remarkable church, very photogenic and attracts people from beyond the immediate area.

But around the time when we were all imbued with a Millenaristic euphoria, a priest who had lived for 27 years at the upper convent and now lived at Good Counsel, had an idea.

That priest was Fr Hilary, known all over Malta in connection with football as a sports journalist, a coach and a football guru.

Fr Hilary's idea was to create a separate chapel which would serve as solace for the crowds that throng Paceville especially in the weekends.

He had just returned from Paris where he covered the 1998 World Cup final and met a group of young people sitting on the church steps at 1am. They complained about the noise in Paceville and said they would relish some peace and quiet.

Fr Hilary began gathering around him the group that would bring the dream to reality. He first contacted Richard England, the world-renowned architect who became enthusiastic about the idea. Brilliant photos by acclaimed photographers Eddie Aquilina, Kurt Arrigo, Robert Camilleri and Peter Bartolo Parnis give a more than adequate idea of Prof. England's creation.

Fr Peter brought round to the idea a group of lay people, including John C Grech, at that time Bank of Valletta chairman and now chairman of FIMBank, and his wife Anne and a group of other laymen. He also convinced the Augustinian province and the church leaders of Malta. Announced in January 2000, the chapel was inaugurated by President de Marco and blessed by Archbishop Mercieca on 8 December that same year.

It was kept open during the night and proved very popular especially from 9pm to 3am. Apart from offering quiet and solace, a team of counselors was present to offer help if requested.

By January 2002, vacant premises across the road were offered and became the Wishing Others Well, a venue for community gatherings and social events, beginning with a lunch for refugees.

The chapel also became an art gallery on occasion, a venue for meetings and seminars with a multi-purpose hall, an auditorium, counseling rooms and a boardroom.

At around that time too, the Millennium Chapel Foundation was set up to underpin what was already being done in the chapel and its social arm WOW.

Soon this initiative created a community among the many helpers who turned up to help as well as another community made up by those whose lives had been changed by the Chapel or WOW.

The rest of the book consists in testimonies of people who have been touched by the Chapel. Some are testimonies in the first person, from Maltese and foreigners (including one by the late Lino Spiteri) while others come from extracts from Fr Hilary's diary about the lives of many people, identified only by their first name.

My impression, as seen from afar, is that the Millennium Chapel in the recent years has rather quietened down. That is natural in any venture that is built of persons and when we hear all the time of new ventures and initiatives. I hope that this book helps the Millennium Chapel reacquire the initial enthusiasm.