A number of years ago, the previous Committee of Pro Tridentina (Malta) had circulated a petition for Tridentine Mass to be celebrated in Valletta. Although the church in question had not been mentioned, research into the organisation's correspondence showed that the petition was for the same church to be used.
Interestingly, Heritage Malta - under whose tutelage the church building falls - was open and interested in providing the building for the celebration of Tridentine Mass in Valletta on a regular (weekly, probably on Sunday morning). However, the project never took off because - allegedly - the Curia did not allow any priest from celebrating Tridentine Mass there.
But, in an interesting development, this church will likely be handed over to the Russian Orthodox Church! Here is a text of the petition being circulated within the Russian Community in Malta:
"Brothers and sisters,
As you know, we are trying to get construction permit to build our church in Kappara, San Gwann. Unfortunately, since January of this year, the Planning Authority has not responded to any of our requests. We do not know what is happening there or how long the process of reviewing of our application will last.
Our parishioners found a long-empty temple in Valletta, which belongs to the Government of Malta, and suggested to petition the Prime Minister of Malta to hand it over to our parish.
For some administrative reasons, the petition must be submitted very quickly, literally, within a week. Please respond to those who are willing to collect signatures on a petition. We will send you a blank form and instructions on how to fill it in.
Let's start work together to get our church and a permanent priest.
Parish council"
Reliable information says that the Catholic Church authorities in Malta have agreed that the church building be used by the Russian Orthodox Church in Malta. One therefore wonders why the traditional Catholic community in Malta was hampered in the first place.
