Today, November 17 is the 170th anniversary from the death of Bishop Franġisku Xaverio Caruana (1759-1847).

The bishop is listed as one of the most influential personalities in the history of the Maltese islands in three important national episodes: the end of the rule of the Knights of St John in Malta in 1799, the occupation that followed by the French under General Napoleon and the advent of the British rule.

Four commemorative plaques are erected in his memory besides his remarkable marble tomb at the Mdina cathedral. These are found on the house of his birthplace in De Rohan Street, Żebbuġ; at the Upper Barrakka gardens, in Valletta; on the façade of the St Philip Band Club in Żebbuġ and below the painting of the titular patron saint of the Żebbuġ parish church that includes a marble slab, which recounts his personal wish that, after his death, his heart be detached from his body and laid to rest among his fellow villagers, who he had so much at heart.

Unfortunately, the name of the street that commemorated him for over 100 years in the centre of Żebbuġ (picture) was removed by the local council in 2014 on the initiative of an adopted resident who, at the time was mayor, ignoring the petition by residents against such a move and subsequently endorsed by the newly-appointed Street Naming Committee overturning the standing order established by the previous committee not to change street names.