A San Francisco resident with links to Malta made a telling point to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi when he visited San Francisco last week.

Lecturer Josie Ghiglieri told Dr Gonzi that the Maltese club in San Francisco worked hard to keep the Maltese culture and language alive for children and grandchildren raised in America.

“There are many schools in Malta that teach English, but there is no school in Malta for English-speaking immigrants to learn the Maltese language and culture,” she told him. “My daughter is always asking me to teach her Maltese. It’s a hard language."

The Prime Minister said he would look into the matter.

Mrs Ghiglieri's comments were reported in the Catholic San Francisco website, who reported that Dr Gonzi capped a three-day stay in the Bay Area with a Mass at St. Elizabeth Parish. After the Mass, he presented Mgr Francis Cilia, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of San Jose and a second generation Maltese-American, with a certificate of dual citizenship.

Mgr Cilia said the presentation was a surprise. He had begun the process of obtaining dual citizenship more than year before, for practical and sentimental value, but had not heard anything from the Maltese authorities.

“When travelling in Europe, having a passport from an EU country is a convenient thing,” said Mgr Cilia. “Also, I’ve always been very proud of my Maltese nationality.”

Dr Gonzi went to San Francisco at the invitation of the Maltese-American Social Club, which was celebrating its 80th anniversary.

He toured local businesses owned by Maltese-Americans, among them Mrs Ghiglieri’s father, Joseph Spiteri, who owns an ice skate factory in South San Francisco. The Prime Minister also attended a memorial service for Patrolman David Chetcuti, a Millbrae police officer and Maltese-American killed in the line of duty in 1998.