Visitors to our islands have always remarked about the rich religious physical heritage that is spread throughout the country – a heritage closely intertwined with our social history. While many of our churches are proudly well preserved thanks to the dedication of thousands of volunteers in our towns and villages, small chapels are often being abandoned because of lack of human and financial resources.

The announcement that the St Paul’s Shipwreck chapel in San Pawl tat-Tarġa in the limits of Naxxar will no longer host regular weekend services “because of a shortage of priests” is a cause of concern for all those who have at heart the importance of our socio-religious heritage. This unique chapel was built between 1696 and 1699 and hosts one of the most impressive paintings of renowned 18th century painter Giuseppe D’Arena depicting St Paul preaching to the Maltese after his shipwreck on the island.

Many fear that once this chapel is no longer used on a regular basis its maintenance will deteriorate and a part of our rich socio-religious heritage will be lost for ever. Something needs to be done to save this and many other chapels in various parts of the Maltese islands.

The drastic drop in religious vocations has meant that many parish churches and ordinary chapels can no longer offer weekend religious services to parishioners. St Augustine’s parish church in Valletta, for instance, is struggling to provide the number of religious services it used to provide in the past as the few priests who live in the adjacent friary are well into their old age and are no longer able to care for their parishioners sufficiently well. At the same time, this church, like many others, needs urgent maintenance as its centuries old structure is beginning to show serious signs of dangerous deterioration.

This fate of almost irreversible deterioration in the upkeep of old buildings is also affecting other historical buildings like the Torri Gauci and the Captain’s Tower which reputedly was used by Grand Master Jean de Valette centuries ago. At times, private owners of old buildings invest their money to keep them in a reasonable state of repair. But in many other cases these buildings suffer a gradual decline.

Solutions exist to these problems, even if at a time when public funds for cultural investment are limited it is not easy to simply state that the government should take care of these old buildings. As has happened in other predominantly Catholic countries, a fall in the number of priests and of practising Catholics will mean that some chapels and even churches may no longer afford to keep their doors open for regular religious ceremonies. But the cultural wealth of these churches needs to be preserved.

Business organisations should be encouraged to sponsor the restoration of a religious or other historical building as part of their commitment to corporate social responsibility. As much as possible, such restored buildings should be kept open to the public and especially tourists as this socio-religious wealth is invaluable in the eyes of those who are not used to having such beautiful and unique buildings in their own country.

The government can play its part too by identifying EU funds for such restoration projects and by granting fiscal incentives to those who commit themselves to upgrade our cultural heritage. It is also vitally important that our schools inculcate in our younger generations the love for everything that makes up our rich culture.

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