Archbishop Gonzi opens London's Malta Centre

BY A STAFF REPORTER THE new Malta Catholic
Centre in Victoria. London, which has been operating since the closure of the East London Centre in December, was formally opened by Archbishop Gonzi of Malta last Sunday.
Present at the opening were Cardinal Heenan, the Maltese Minister of Labour Mr. Vincent Tabone. and the Provincial of the Maltese Franciscans who run the centre, Fr. A. Porten', Archbishop Michael Gonzi, aged 81, and still lively in expression, conversation and his interest in affairs, spent several days in Britain, visiting Maltese workers at factories in the north and south of the country.
His prst visit here was 47 years ago as secretary to the late Arehbishop Caruana when he gave missions to immigrants in Cardiff and Portsmouth. His last visit—in February 1965, Independence Year, at the invitation of Mr. Duncan Sandys, then Colonial Secretary — was to put the Church's point of view on the new Maltese Constitution.
He is the only Catholic bishop who is a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. "l his honour was conferred on him in 1945 for his share in leading the Maltese • through the rigours of the siege in 1941.
At the Malta Catholic Centre, the Franciscan Fathers care for the spiritual and social needs of immigrants and run a hostel for men who are temporarily without accommodation of their own.
In London alone now there are an estimated 26,000 Maltese out of the 45,000 in the whole country. Caring for these, under the superVision of mission superior Fr. Philip Calleja, 0.F.M., are eleven priests, six Brothers and 96 nuns. The Centre itself is staffed by five priests led by Fr. Anthony Busuttil.
With the increasing employment shortage in Malta owing to the dockyard run-down there, the long-standing necessity of emigration is more likely to become more of a problem than less.