Dun Mikiel remembered

A very befitting definition to the word “Providence”, which I came across recently, is that of “Thesaurus Domini – Abundant Care of God”. I would, therefore, describe the Tal-Providenza Home at Siġġiewi, founded by Mgr Michael Azzopardi, as a Thesaurus for Persons with Disability. The 25th anniversary of his death has just been marked (last Saturday) but his “monument” started materialising 50 years ago.

... he aired his idea of opening the first residential home for persons with disabilities on the radio and providence saw to it that money became available- Mgr Philip Calleja

Mgr Azzopardi, or as he is more commonly known, Dun Mikiel, was born in Valletta on February 10, 1910 and ordained priest on December 22, 1934. He was a holy, dynamic, cheerful priest, full of young and inspiring spirit, an excellent speaker, and it befitted him to be appointed Ecclesiastical Assistant General of the Malta Catholic Action (1940-1968) and Inspector of Religious Education of Government Schools (1941-1965).

For several years he broadcast on Rediffusion the Siegħa tal-Morda and Xandira għat-Tfal ta’ l-Iskejjel programmes, thus entering practically all homes in Malta with his charming word.

I have known Dun Mikiel since childhood, having been an aspirant and a young lad in Catholic Action. I became much closer to him when he appointed me Diocesan Ecclesiastical Assistant for the male youth section of CA and was one of the organisers of summer camps for children of numerous families and later director of the Emigrants Commission. Same as many of the dynamic leaders of those times, I feel that what made me what I am and made me do what I did was the famous and inspiring interpretation of the words “leaven” and “salt” we find in Chapters 5 and 13 of St Matthew’s. The tesserament or enrolment as member of the Catholic Action was a commitment to these two words: to be “leaven” and “salt” in the society you mix with.

The Dar Tal-Providenza was a gift of Providence and the name it carries is, indeed, providential. It all started in the 1960s.

In those years, the Malta Catholic Action hosted the Don Orione Fathers who had established services for the care of the elderly, disabled and disadvantaged people all over Italy, as well as in Poland, and discussed with them the programmes of the sections Ħidmiet which formed Catholic Action.

Again in the 1960s, emigration from Malta was still at its peak. The great number of young males emigrating from Malta, mainly to Australia, created a serious imbalance of the sexes with the consequence that the number of Maltese girls marrying service people exceeded 300 per year. This situation put me, then head of the Curia Marriage Office, in close contact with the Services’ Chaplains. And it was through Navy Chaplain Fr Borg that I was informed that the Admiralty was planning to vacate the Rest Camp at Qrendi on the Siġġiewi Road to Għar Lapsi and enquired whether it could be of any use to the Church.

Dun Mikiel happened to be abroad, and with the permission of his assistant Dun Karm Grech we agreed to organise the summer camps that year at the Rest Camp in Siġġiewi instead of in Għajnsielem – the locality being close to Għar Lapsi.

When he returned and was informed of the offer, he drove me up to show him the place. On our way, we passed the church dedicated to “the Flight into Egypt”, commonly called Tal-Madonna tal-Providenza, and as soon as I told him the name, he shouted, without telling me what he had in mind: “We will call it Tal-Providenza!” Not much later, Dun Mikiel made it known to us that he was thinking of retiring from all his commitments and using part of the Rest Camp area as a home for children with physical and intellectual disabilities. We immediately agreed to give up the whole area to Dun Mikiel’s project.

The then Archbishop Michael Gonzi was thrilled at the idea. He himself (being a Sir) contacted Admiral Lord Kilburn and on June 5, 1962 – nearly 50 years ago – a rent agreement was signed between the Admiralty and the Catholic Action. Two years later, most of the property belonging to the Admiralty was passed on to the Malta government and on January 21, 1967 the deed of the land transfer to Catholic Action was formally signed.

Dun Mikiel drafted all plans but had little money in hand. On September 12, 1965, he aired his idea of opening the first residential home in Malta for persons with physical and intellectual disabilities during a radio programme on Rediffusion and providence saw to it that money immediately started to become available. In early 1968, the Sisters of St Jeanne Thouret, Sisters of Charity, took up residence in the premises as the first support workers.

Eventually, Villa Monsignor Gonzi, Villa Papa Giovanni and Villa Papa Luciani were built and added on – now giving shelter to 104 residents and offering respite services on a regular basis to many others.

Dun Mikiel died on May 13, 1987. Archbishop Joseph Mercieca expressed the wish that his funeral be held at St John’s Co-Cathedral and that he would be buried at the home of his love.

“Go with your mind at rest. Rest assured, Dun Mikiel, that all your initiatives will be continued.” Your successors, Mgr Lawrence Gatt and, currently, Fr Martin Micallef, have seen and are seeing to that.