MANUEL SCHEMBRI

SAINT THERESE
OF LISIEUX
IN MALTA

OCD
OCD
 SAINT THERESE OF LISIEUX
IN MALTA

The Centenary of St. Therese of Lisieux was truly a

moment of grace whereby cultural and devotional activities
blended to present the universal message of St. Therese.
The Maltese Province established a Centenary Committee to
animate and coordinate a plan of action. These cultural and
devotional activities marked the already deep-rooted
devotion of the Maltese people toward the Little Flower. The
attendance and participation of religious and many lay
people were most encouraging. This was evident from the
opening of the Centenary by our confrere Bishop Francis A.
Micallef, Vicar Apostolic of Kuwait, at a Mass concelebrated
at the Sanctuary dedicated to the Saint in Birkirkara.
The highlight of the cultural events was a Theresian
Evening held at the Augustinian Sisters in Fleur de Lys.
Father General Camilo Maccise and Professor Peter
Serracino-Inglott, former Rector of the University of Malta,
were the main speakers. On February 13, at the Spinelli
Hall, Father General delivered a talk on The Relevance
Today of the Spiritual Message of the Little Flower, followed
by Professor Serracino-Inglott, who spoke of the spiritual
poverty of the Saint presenting herself Before God with
Empty Hands. The Priests of the archdiocese of Malta,
together with the male and female religious, were especially
invited for this occasion. A National Congress of the
Secular Order was, then, convoked at our parish church of
Ta’ Xbiex on February 14. The seven fraternities attended at
the Congress presided by Father General. The message of
the Little Way was illustrated by Father General and the
President of the Fraternity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel,
Mr. Carmel Mallia. The Congress ended with Mass with the
Spiritual Assistants of the Secular Order. Another Eucharist
was celebrated the day after at St. Therese Sanctuary,
Birkirkara. Father General presided.

OCD
 618 MANUEL SCHEMBRI

Among the Centenary Celebrations there were two

Weeks of Theresian Spirituality offered to lay people and
religious sisters at our friars’ in Birkirkara and our nuns’
monastery in Cospicua. Selected Letters of St. Therese,
nearly all of them, were translated in to Maltese. By the end
of 1998 the complete works of the Saint were eventually
available to the Maltese public.
The Discalced Carmelite Fathers irtroduced the
devotion to the Little Flower by translating in abridged
form the Story of a Soul (1911). In 1932 a bimonthly review
was published named after St Therese of the Child Jesus.
Later, the entire Story of a Soul was translated and
reprinted, and recently a new translation was undertaken
and published (see the adjacent bibliography in this
regard). The liturgical feast in her honour began at the
Birkirkara church in 1927, two years after her
canonization. In the late fifties the friars opted to build a
national sanctuary dedicated to St. Therese. For this
purpose in 1960 they brought from Milan a glass Shrine
containing the effigy of St. Therese (moulded in wax at
Monza), similar to the one found in the chapel of the
Lisieux Carmel. It was carried all over the islands of Malta
and Gozo, and attracted many devotees to the amiable
figure of St. Therese. During the Centenary Year, in March,
a fire broke out around the Shrine and the fumes literally
destroyed the holy effigy. Yet what seemed to be a tragedy
turned out to be a grace, or as the Saint puts it, we
experienced how "everything is a grace." In two weeks time
the faithful of Malta and Gozo made it possible to order a
new statue, this time from Rome. The artist was Mr.
Salvatore Placenti. And the nuns of Lisieux were generous
in donating relics and cloth for the habit of the new wax
statue. This shrine was carried in procession to the
Carmelite churches in Malta, including the basilica in
Valletta, capital of Malta, run by our Calced brethren.
On February 21, His Excellency Joseph Mercieca,
Archbishop of Malta, led a Deanery Lenten Pilgrimage from
the parish church to St. Thereses Sanctuary in Birkirkara.
Along the route, clergy and lay people prayed the Way of
the Cross with thoughts of St. Therese. The support of
Archbishop Mercieca throughout the Centenary was most

OCD
 SAINT THERESE OF LISIEUX IN MALTA 619

appreciated. In fact, we were honoured to have him with us

and preside at the Solemn Dedication of St. Therese’s
Sanctuary on July 19, 1997, a fitting and everlasting
commemoration of the Theresian Centenary.
Among the activities held during September 1997, one
should mention in particular the following religious
services. At Cospicua an Evening Vigil was held, animated
by the Last Conversations of the Saint. The Nocturnal
Adoration for the Sanctification of the Clergy, a diocesan
organization, chose as its monthly revenue our parish
church of Ta' Xbiex. The theme was St. Therese and her love
for priests. A solemn corteo carried the Shrine in procession
from the parish church to her Sanctuary in Birkirkara,
accompanied by readings from her writings and prayers.
Then the Novena took place, organized daily by the
respective Provincials and members of the religious orders
present in Malta, ten in all. The themes chosen dealt with
different facets of her spiritual message, as master of the
faith and as model for youth, religious and one and all
through her Little Way of spiritual childhood, according to
the difrerent charism of each Order.
On September 30, 1997, His Excellency José Sebastian
Laboa, Apostolic Nuncio for Malta, officiated at the
Centenary celebrations. He confided his long time devotion
to the Saint to whom he had entrusted all his pastoral and
diplomatic endeavors since his ordination to the
priesthood. The following day, the liturgical feast of St.
Therese, the Centenary Celebrations came to an end with
the celebration together of the Eucharist by the two
families of Carmel, Calced and Discalced.

OCD
 620 MANUEL SCHEMBRI

Bibliography on St. Therese of Lisieux

1926

1 A.A. Ir-Rebbiegha ta Uarda Cchejcna Bajda, (The

Springtime of a Little White Flower) Dar ta’ San
Guzepp, Hamrun7 1926 (ed. 2), pp. 59.
Summary of Story of a Soul, originally in French and
translated in to Maltese by a Discalced Carmelite Father,
published by the OCD fathers of Cospicua. First edition
1911.

1930

2 P. MARTIN, It-Trik ic-Cchejcna taz-Zghurija

Spiritwali (The Little Way of Spiritual Childhood),
translated from the French by an OCD father,
Empire Press, Valletta, 1930, pp. 118.

1948

3 ST. THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS, Hajja ta’ S.

Tereza tal-Bambin Gesù. Storja ta' Ruh, (The Life of
St. Therese of the Child Jesus: Story of a Soul),
translation by Pio di San Leone OCD, A. C. Aquilina
& Co., Valletta, 1948, (ed. 3), pp. 239.
The first edition of Story of a Soul was published in several
parts by Pio di San Leone during the post-war times of the
Second World War, and was instrumental in propagating the
devotion towards St. Therese throughout the islands of Malta
and Gozo.

OCD
 SAINT THERESE OF LISIEUX IN MALTA 621

1970

4 ANGELIKU BUSUTTIL OCD, Santa Tereza tal-

Bambin Gesù. Il-Qaddisa ta' Zmienna f’hajjitha u tagh
limha, (St. Therese of the Child Jesus: a Saint of our
Times in her Life and Doctrine), Religjon u Hajja,
Birkirkara, (Hajjiet 3) 1970, pp. 96.
A concise and well-done presentation of the life and teachings
of the Saint. Among the subjects dealt with, one finds
Spiritual Childhood, Strong Desires, Fortitude in Littleness,
Abandonment into God’s Hands, Humility and Simplicity of
the Heart, Love and Infinite Trust, In the Heart of the Church.

1974

5 ANGELIKU M. BUSUTTIL OCD, Fjura mis-Sema, (A

Flower from Heaven), Lumen Christi, Gozo, 1974,
(ed. 2), pp.20.
Originally a conference delivered on the occasion of the
Saints Centenary of Birth.

1983

6 MANWEL BORG SDC, S. Tereza tal-Bambin Gesù

(1873-1897), review Profili 22 (1983) 1-17.
A biographical article.

1985

7 ANGELIKU M. BUSUTTIL OCD, Santa Tereza tal-

Bambin Gesù: Il-Qaddisa tai-Ward - Patruna tal-
Missjonijiet, (St. Therese of the Child Jesus: the Saint
of Roses - Patroness of the Missions), Pubblikazzjoni
Karmelitana Terezjana, Malta 1985, pp. 88 .
Containing 41 chapters written in an easy readable style on
the life of the Saint.

OCD
 622 MANUEL SCHEMBRI

8 A.A. Siltiet minn S. Tereza tal-Bambin Gesù, S. Gwann

tas-Salib u S. Tereza tal-Bambin Gesù, in Rubi
Ghatxana Ghalik (Selections from St. Terea of Jesus,
St. John of the Cross and St. Therese of the Child
Jesus), translated by Angeliku M. Busuttil OCD,
Klabb Qari Nisrani 15, Malta 1985, pp. 138.

1994

9 ST. THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS, S. Tereza tal-

Bambin Gesù Tkellimna. l-Ahhar Hsibijiet (St.
Therese of the Child Jesus speaks to us: The Last
Thoughts), translation by Angeliku M. Busuttil OCD,
Pubblikazzjoni Karmelitana Terezjana, Malta 1994,
pp. 320.
Translation of the Last Conversations.

1995

10 ST. THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS, S. Tereza tal-

Bambin Gesù Tghallimna: Storja ta’ Ruh (St. Therese
of the Child Jesus teaches us: Story of a Soul)
translation by Angeliku M. Busuttil OCD,
Pubblikazzjoni Karmelitana Terezjana, Malta 1995,
pp. 352.

11 ANGELIKU M. BUSUTTIL OCD-MARTIN S. BORG

OCD, Il-Fjur Zghir Abjad. Santa Tereza tal-Bambin
Gesù, (The Little White Flower: St. Therese of the
Child Jesus), Pubblikazzjoni Karmelitana Terezjana,
Malta 1995, pp. 64.
A painting book with information and exercises for children.

12 ANGELIKU M. BUSUTTIL OCD, Is-Seba’ Vizti (The

Seven Visits), the first booklet of a series entitled,
Nitolbu ma’ S. Tereza tal-Bambin Gesù (To Pray with
St. Therese of the Child Jesus), Santwarju S. Tereza
tal-Bambin Gesù, Birkirkara 1995, pp. 16.

OCD
 SAINT THERESE OF LISIEUX IN MALTA 623

Selections from the Gospel and the Writings of the Saint for
popular devotion. The prayer book is used during the Holy
Thursday celebrations.

1996

13 ANGELIKU M. BUSUTTIL OCD, Ir-Ruzarju Mqaddes

(The Holy Rosary) the second booklet in the series
for popular devotion (see above), Santwarju S. Tereza
tal-Bambin Gesù, Birkirkara 196, pp. 16.

1997

14 ST. THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS, Santa Tereza

tal-Bambin Gesù Tiktbilna - Ittri Maghzula, (St.
Therese of the Child Jesus writes to us: Selected
Letters) translation by Angeliku M. Busuttil OCD,
Pubblikazzjoni Karmelitana Terezjana, Malta, pp. 447.
The publication of the Centenary of St. Thereses Entry into
Life.

1998

15 ST. THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS, Santa Tereza

tal-Bambin Gesù Tferranna - Kitbiet Poetici u Talbiet,
(St. Therese of the Child Jesus entertains us: Poetiy
Writings and Prayers) translation by Angeliku M.
Busuttil OCD, Pubblikazzjoni Karmelitana Terezjana,
Malta, pp. 427.

OCD
OCD