Archbishop Elect Charles Scicluna is not excluding a reshuffle of the Curia’s top brass as he reviews the Church’s inner workings an d is having restless nights as he ponders the “tough decisions ahead”.

“My sleep hasn’t been as peaceful over the past few days. I think the Curia does need restructuring and this is something I want to deal with quickly,” he said, addressing the press immediately after the official announcement that he would be the new head of the Maltese Church.

Leadership of the Church under Archbishop Emeritus Paul Cremona came under fire last year, with some members of the clergy expressing exasperation about his lack of creativity and decisiveness. Mgr Cremona resigned in October, citing health reasons.

Mgr Scicluna said yesterday he would be evaluating a number of reports drawn up by experts about Church reform to increase efficiency and improve the situation. He said he would be listening to those who had already started a process to improve the Church’s higher institutions.

Asked if he would be ushering in new faces to his ‘cabinet’ or keep the same people who had advised his predecessor, Mgr Scicluna’s wide smile turned to a sombre downward glance as he said he would “exclude nothing”.

He later said he would like to have youthful people around him, “to be able to grow old with”, but insisted he would not discard experience.

I will have to be myself. I will not be a photocopy and mimic others

The first issue he hoped to deal with would be the Church’s financial troubles. Earlier this month, the Curia reported a €400,000 financial deficit for 2013, something Mgr Scicluna said could “not go on”.

Next Archbishop will ‘still live with parents’

“This is something that worries me deeply and we must deal with this head on over the coming months,” he said.

The official announcement, made by Apostolic Nuncio Aldo Cavalli, was characterised by rapturous applause and laughter from the gathering of Church dignitaries, who were tickled pink by Mgr Scicluna’s response when asked how he came to know he would be the new Archbishop.

“When I saw three missed calls from the Nuncio one evening, I knew he wasn’t calling me to ask about the weather,” Mgr Scicluna said, adding that he had needed to sit down when he heard the news from Mgr Cavalli.

Mgr Scicluna said his e-mail account and iPhone had not stopped buzzing over the past few days and described it as “society’s modern way of saying you are not alone, we are here with you”.

Mgr Scicluna said he would not be residing in any palace.

Following a news report by Times of Malta on Wednesday that Mgr Scicluna had been given the nod by Pope Francis, commentators had said he was the right person to revitalise the Church in Malta.

Asked how he hoped to do this, Mgr Scicluna recounted an anecdote in which then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI, had said that whoever would be tasked with taking over from Pope John Paul II would have to be himself.

“This is something I feel is true today. I will have to be myself.

“I will not be a photocopy and mimic others.

“You will get Charles Scicluna and God help me,” he said, sparking another round of applause that boomed through one of the Curia’s grand halls.

Riding on the wave of applause, Mgr Scicluna said he would not be residing in any palace but instead would be living with his parents, who had supported him over the years.

The palaces, normally used as residencies, would instead be used for high church functions but also opened to the public.

Asked if he would be appointing an Auxiliary Bishop, a post he had filled since 2012, Mgr Scicluna said: “Certainly not tomorrow and not the day after either.”