Victory Day represents Malta’s identity – an identity which today we must preserve, Archibishop Charles Scicluna said on Thursday during his feast day homily.

During his Victory Day mass homily at St. John’s Co-Cathedral, Archbishop Scicluna said that what the day represents forms part of “our cultural, spiritual and architectural” patrimony and that it should not be lost.

He continued to confirm his argument by reminding how the Maltese wanted the British to give Malta its independence on the 8th of September as it marks the birth of the Virgin Mary “yet they wouldn’t know about it”.

“Originally, in 1964, the Maltese wanted to gain independence on September 8, not because they wanted to dwell on the past but because they wanted the day to confirm our identity and a sense of responsibility that should not be lost, despite the British having other plans,” the Archbishop said.

The Archbishop went on to offer a veiled criticism of what has been done to Malta’s heritage since then.

We can look at this magnificent cathedral, the marvellous architecture in this city and the beauty of the Grand Harbour and you can see harmony in our architecture,” he said.

Then, he said, one needs to look at what has been done beyond these areas: what is being built “when we have control of the reigns.”

“I leave the answer up to the conscience of each and every one of you,” he said.

During the homily, Scicluna also spoke of the significance of the occasion, saying that this date represents “a national union” as there are many victories associated with it such as the end of the Great Siege in 1565 and the ending of the Siege of Malta during the Second World War by the Axis forces in 1943.

These are moments in history which must be appreciated for their significance, the archbishop said, noting in the case of the Great Siege that Malta had the fortune of having the Knights of St. John to defend it in such a way that the trauma of slavery was avoided.

He described it as a decisive moment for Christian Europe at the time, as it helped curb the advance of the Ottoman Empire.