Builders and missionaries

Victor Sammut: A Legacy of Church BuildersThe author, Malta 2020, €15.

Victor Sammut’s chronicle of his family emphasises its involvement with the Church’s heritage in Malta – not only in the physical architectural sense but also in its spiritual one, since quite a few of them opted to serve as missionaries in faraway lands.

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It all started with Antonio Sammut (1867-1949). Affectionately known as Iċ-Ċirwiel, he was a well-known master mason involved in the building of, among others, the iconic Villa Apap at St George’s Bay, better known as Villa Rosa, and numerous residences in the fast-growing Gżira area.

A most devout man by nature, Antonio soon felt that Gżira, which had been declared a separate parish in 1921, needed its own parish church. Buying a large plot of land, he offered his services free of charge so that the town would get a fitting temple. He himself drew the plan of the church, which would also honour the ‘miracle’ of the ġebla – the stone thrown at an image of the Virgin by three drunken sailors which got stuck in the protective pane of glass.

For 14 years the building of the church became his...