End of an era... Ursuline crèche in Sliema closes its doors

Sr Magdalene Cauchi was on night duty at the Sliema creche one evening when the gate outside began to rattle. As she called out to see what was happening, a man shouted back there was a newborn baby on the doorstep. He gave her two options: either the crèche take the baby in or he would flush the newborn down a toilet. Sr Magdalene immediately took the baby under her care. It was just one story of many experienced by the nuns who, for 119 years, took care of thousands of babies in the home nestled in the heart of Sliema. As the crèche closes its doors, the mother general of the Ursuline Sisters speaks for the first time about her plans to transform it and give it new life. The closure of the care home on February 7 falls in line with EU policies, which are calling for the de-institutionalisation of children under the age of three. Efforts are being made by European Union countries to ensure that as many children as possible are raised within family environments rather than in institutions. Sr Magdalene Cauchi: ‘The crèche will rise again.’ Sr Magdalene admits a “hush fell onto the home” when the crèche was closing. “We cried. We consoled each other. But, with a past like ours,...