I refer to the article ‘Soldier of the Lord who went to battle with the Devil’ (The Sunday Times of Malta, October 16).

I would like to point out that Malta also had an exorcist of great fame, who was especially well-known in the north of Italy, Fr Antonin Tonna Barthet. I will mention just one example of an exorcism conducted by Fr Tonna Barthet in Florence.

During a long exorcism on a woman, Fr Tonna Barthet was fed up and told the Devil: “Get out you pig.” The Devil replied in Maltese: “Ħanżir int u min dilkek.” (“You are a pig and so is who ordained you”). It is said that afterwards he returned to his monastery and found his Psalterium (Book of Psalms) burnt in his room.

Fr Tonna Barthet was born in Valletta on May 7, 1868. He joined the Maltese Augustinian Friars on June 1, 1884, studied at the International College, St Monica, Rome, and was ordained on March 12 1892. In the same year he was sent to Nantes, France to open St Monica’s Priory of which he was the Prior. In 1900 during the anti-clerical period in France he was sent away to Spain.

In Spain he taught philosophy at university and during the opening of the scholastic year 1906 he gave a speech at the University of El Escorial. Fr Tonna Barthet was also the Chaplin and confessor of the Spanish Royal Family.

In 1912 he returned to Italy where he had many different roles.

In 1929 he returned to Malta. He was a great writer in various languages and many of his books were translated into other languages.

In 1940 during World War II he went to Gozo. There he taught French at the Lyceum. He died in 1945 and is buried at St Augustine’s church, Victoria.

Some of his manuscripts are to be found in Gozo as well as in St Augustine’s Priory, Valletta.