Healing the body and the soul during the Cholera pandemic of 1837 in Malta : the role of church and clergy

Abstract

The Church in Malta has played a pivotal role in the life of the Maltese for a millenium. When the cholera pandemic attacked the archipelago in summer 1837 the church was crucial in the efforts to fight the pestilence and its devastating effects. The Bishop issued pastoral letters during the pandemic urging the faithful for prayers, suspending orders of abstinence from meat on specific days and following public health orders with regards to mass gatherings and burial arrangements. The parish priest in the pulpit was the main medium delivering notices from the Government Health Authorities to the mainly illiterate public. Many diocesan priests and the religious from monastic orders especially the Capuchin fathers tended to the sick and the dying. In situations like these the Catholic Church distinguished itself as the ultimate protector of the Maltese population.