On October 19, 1837, Malta was shocked by the news that during the previous night a ciborium with consecrated hosts had been stolen from the church of St Theresa in Cospicua. The church had been built in 1625 and it was officially consecrated in 1787. For over two centuries it was the only church and friary of the Discalced Carmelitines in Malta.
On December 22, 1837, Galea was found guilty and condemned to hard labour for life with two tied chains, one on each leg- Eddie Attard
Earlier that day, at about 6 a.m., when Fr Teodosio, a Discalced Carmelite, proceeded to give the benediction with the consecrated host, he noticed that the tabernacle’s door had been forced open and that the ciborium was missing.
Shocked by the sad news of the sacrilegious theft, Bishop Francesco Saverio Caruana ordered special prayers to be said in all churches and that the Holy Eucharist be exposed during the prayers. The altar and the titular painting of the church had to be covered as a sign of mourning.
When the police investigation started there was no doubt that the silver ciborium was stolen to be sold. Meanwhile an exhaustive search was carried out inside the church, and the small copper drawer which had been removed from the tabernacle during the theft was found under the dais supporting the statue of St Anthony. A gimlet and two bent nails were also found near the drawer. Another search was carried out outside the church but to no avail.
The next day, Grezzju Zammit, a goldsmith from Valletta, informed police that a man went to his shop to pawn a silver cross. Zammit, who was aware of the ciborium’s theft, told the police that the man asked for a scudo for the cross.
Zammit said that when he inspected the cross he found signs that it had been forcibly removed and suspected foul play. For this reason Zammit suggested that the Office of the Consul at the Monte di Pietà be consulted to value the cross. At first the man seemed to agree but on the way to the consul he changed his mind and ran away.
The police suspected that Pawlu Galea from Mosta, who lived in Cospicua, was involved in the theft. Galea, who also fitted the description given by Zammit, was later apprehended at Santa Scolastica church in Vittoriosa. Confronted with the sale of the silver cross, Galea said he had found it. He also provided an alibi for his whereabouts on the day of the theft.
However, during a search at his residence the police found a jacket with some of its lining missing and a piece of string which eventually matched the string found with the ciborium.
Meanwhile further searches were carried out in the vicinity of the church of St Theresa, and in the afternoon of June 21, Franġisku Saverio Mercieca continued the search in the Advanced Gate ditch. There he met some children playing, among them 11-year-old Franġisku Cachia from Żabbar. The boy joined Mercieca in the search and eventually the ciborium, without the cross, was found in a crevice in the fortifications near the Advanced Gate.
The ciborium was not removed from its place before the arrival of Fr Rużar Mercieca, Franġisku Saverio’s brother, who was the vice-parish priest of Cospicua. About 50 consecrated hosts were found in the ciborium, and it was noticed that the small hole made after the cross was removed from the lid was sealed.
The ciborium was returned to its tabernacle during a procession led by the Vicar-General, Mgr Salvatore Lanzon. Meanwhile the Church authorities ordered thanksgiving prayers and church bells to be rung throughout the diocese.
Further police investigations revealed that Galea had been seen going to Vittoriosa and later returning to Cospicua carrying a small sack under his armpit. Moreover, the ciborium was found wrapped in a cloth similar to the lining of Galea’s jacket.
With this evidence, on December 19, 1837, Galea was charged with the theft of the ciborium which was valued at 100 scudi. After an objection by Filippo Torreggiani, the defence lawyer, the value of the stolen property was reduced to 84 scudi.
Luigi Bardon, who led the prosecution, produced 42 witnesses, and the trial by jury came to an end on December 22, 1837. Galea was found guilty and condemned to hard labour for life with two tied chains, one on each leg.
At that time convicts were kept at the Great Prison in Valletta, and Galea shared a cell with Wenzu Arnaud, who had been jailed for 10 years for the attempted murder of three youths.
During the night of December 1-2, 1839, Galea died of his injuries. Arnaud said he had heard voices telling him to kill Galea- Eddie Attard
During the night of December 1-2, 1839, Galea was heard calling for help but the prison warders arrived too late. He had been hit on the head with a bed-plank by Arnaud and died of his injuries. When questioned by the police Arnaud said that he had heard voices telling him to kill Galea.
When Arnaud was charged with murder, Carmelo Mariani, his defence lawyer, raised the plea of insanity and the court appointed three doctors – Dr Luigi Gravagna, Dr Salvatore Axisa and Dr Tommaso Chetcuti – to examine the accused. Arnaud was kept under observation in the mental hospital and medical experts later declared him to have been insane at the time of the murder. On January 14, 1840, Arnaud was tried and after the jurors confirmed the experts’ findings, the court committed him to the mental hospital.
In thanksgiving for the recovery of the ciborium, the Discalced Carmelite friars built a small chapel at the spot where it was found in Vittoriosa and the place became known as Fejn sabu lis-Sinjur (Where the Lord was found). An inscription above the altar in the chapel reads: Videte locum, ubi positus erat Dominus (See the place where the Lord was laid, Matthew 28: 1-6).