The Inquisitor's palace and other places of interest in Vittoriosa

Abstract

From the very beginning the Church always insisted on safeguarding her Faith. The methods which she adopted to do this differed from age to age. She used to deal with transgressors in the same way the State would deal with other criminals. Therefore, there existed not only a Civil Court but an Ecclesiastical Court as well. When the latter was founded to safeguard the Faith, it was called 'inquisition', a term meaning 'to inquire into', the matter, in this case, in matters of Faith, hence the term 'Inquisition'. The person responsible for this institution was called an Inquisitor. He was normally an ecclesiastic appointed by the Pope to protect the Catholic Faith and, the christian morals of the people of a determined country. He presided over a Tribunal with the duty of observing the established rules of procedure. The Inquisitor enjoyed also the rights of inflicting punishments. This was done to uncover one's crime and that of others. In many cases in Malta, convicted criminals were handed over to the Secular Arm, which could put them to death.