https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/123004 Thu, 23 Apr 2026 02:08:15 GMT 2026-04-23T02:08:15Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/131025 Title: History and description of the venerable and miraculous icon of our Blessed Lady of Philermos, patroness of the Sacred and Military Order of Malta Abstract: This celebrated picture was venerated in the Rhodes long before the conquest of the Island by the Sacred and Military Order of St. John of Jerusalem, under the Grand Master de Villaret, in 1309. It had been brought from Jerusalem, by a Rhodian gentleman, for a Sanctuary which he founded on a rock where he had been saved from committing suicide by an apparition of the Blessed Virgin, and in Jerusalem also it had been long an object of public veneration. After the conquest of the island, tow lovers were found dead in teh sanctuary, and this tragic event gave to it the name of Philermos, or unhappy love... [Excerpt] Description: Bottom of Title Page: Indulgences granted by the Holy Father Pope Pius IX to the Church of St. John of Jerusalem, In Great Ormond Street. https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/131025 https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/130881 Title: A summary of the history of Malta Abstract: Introductory Chapter; Geographical situation and features of the island of Malta - Division - Climate - Commerce - Industries and Natural resources - Population - Government - Religion - History.; The Maltese Islands consist of Malta, Gozo, Comino and two other small islands, of little or no importance, called Cominotto and Filfola.; This group of islands is situated in the Mediterranean Sea.; Malta, the largest, lies in 14 °-31' ·of east longitude, and 35°-54'-26" north latitude. Its greatest width is 12 miles, its length 20, its circumference 60 miles, and its area 98 sq. miles.; The nearest lands to Malta are Gozo, Sicily and Africa. Malta is 5 miles distant from Gozo, 60 miles from the nearest point of Sicily and about 179 miles from Africa.; The two chief ports of the island are divided by the oblong peninsula on which the town of Valletta is built. The Grand Harbour which is to the east, is about a mile and a half in length, and less than 3/4 of a mile in width at the mouth. This again contains several convenient creeks viz: Rinella, the creek of the Galleys or of Vittoriosa, the French creek, and the Marsa where even large vessels of war may ride safely at anchor. The entrance of this harbour is defended by the forts St. Elmo, Ricasoli, and the castle of St. Angelo. The harbour to the west, called Marsamuscetto is used by the P. & 0. Company and for vessels arriving from places not in free pratique. Here they are obliged to perform their quarantine, and hence called also the Quarantine harbour. This port is also defended by Fort St. Elmo, on one side, and Fort Tigne on the other. The Fort Manoel, which is built on a small island within the harbour, is also intended to guard the entrance in case of attack... [Excerpt] Description: A summary ... containing an abridged history of the order of St. John of Jerusalem from its foundation to its establishment in Malta Wed, 01 Jan 1890 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/130881 1890-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/130877 Title: Maltese pocket grammar Abstract: The Alphabet; The transcriptions that are now used for the Maltese written language have been arranged by foreigners, whose ideas of the Maltese roots and their origin were extremely imperfect.; The first scribes tried to write Maltese words using the Italian characters - the least desirable for a Semitic transcription. For this purpose they used their personal sense of perspicacity and intelligence in capturing Maltese sounds and by appropriating the Italian alphabet, rendered chem without any claim at philologicaf knowledge or scientific system.; Result : 1. one cannot read Maltese correctly, the transcriptions not giving the pronunciation of the words ; 2. one cannot understand Maltese reading, the transcriptions having been made by people who were ignorant of the roots of this language.; Our first efforts should be directed towards giving the Maltese language a true transcription. The Maltese language, like all Semitic languages, is very rich in vowels.; Of the European alphabets the only one, which lends itself in any way for rendering the rich Semitic sounds, is the French alphabet... [Excerpt] Sat, 01 Jan 1910 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/130877 1910-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/130876 Title: The Assunta of Gozo Abstract: The predilection which our Lady has always shown in her manifestations for the humble and obscure things of this world was strikingly illustrated by the story of the supernatural communications which she held some nine years ago with a peasant man and woman at the sanctuary ta ( or of) Pinu, in the island of Gozo.; There is much in the history and character of the Gozitans to account for why our Lady should have thus singled them out for her favours. When we consider that for nearly a century the Maltese Islands have been exposed to all the evils attending garrison and seaport town life, the brightness of the faith and the goodness of the lives of the majority of their inhabitants is indeed something wonderful. Their immunity from corruption may be owing to an element in the lives of both Maltese and Gozitans, which does not exist in most of the other blessed countries where the Catholic Faith and traditions have remained untouched, and have been suffered to permeate the lives of their people. To the Maltese and Gozitans heresy is a living reality, a horrible monster dwelling at their very doors, meeting them at every turn, and which they detest with a passion which rules their lives. They live in the midst of daily acts of irreverence, unconscious, indeed, on the part of the perpetrators, but none the less horribly real to those who witness them... [Excerpt] Description: Reprinted from "The Month," January, 1893. Wed, 01 Jan 1896 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/130876 1896-01-01T00:00:00Z