In the summer of 1837, a silent killer swept across the Maltese Islands. It arrived without warning, carried by ships docking at Malta’s bustling harbours. At first, people fell ill with stomach pain and vomiting. Then came the unstoppable dehydration, turning once-healthy bodies into lifeless shells within hours. Cholera had arrived.
This was Malta’s first recorded cholera epidemic, part of a deadly surge sweeping across Europe and the Mediterranean. The island, a strategic crossroads of trade and travel, became the perfect breeding ground for disease. Contaminated water, poor sanitation, and crowded streets allowed cholera to spread like wildfire, striking the capital city of Valletta, the Three Cities, and surrounding villages.
As fear gripped the population, authorities scrambled to contain the outbreak. Quarantine stations filled with the sick, but treatment was limited, and death came swiftly. The people of Malta watched helplessly as hundreds perished, their bodies buried in mass graves. The island fell into mourning, and many believed that this pandemic was divine punishment.
But just as the horror faded and life slowly returned to normal, a shocking crime shattered the fragile peace. A theft from a local church unsettled communities across the island. Had someone angered God? Whispers spread that this sacrilege would bring another curse, another deadly epidemic to punish the people once more. Panic, paranoia, and fear took hold.
This story is inspired from real, documented events.
The Cursed Thief
Textual Narrative: Fiona Vella
Visual Narrative: Cherise Micallef
Series Editors: Maria Muscat, Godwin Vella
Printing: Gutenberg Press Ltd
Technical Support: Margaret Abdilla Cunningham, George Agius, Pierre Balzia
Acknowledgements: Heritage Malta’s Board of Directors, CEO, COO, and staff members in the Conservation, Curatorial, ICT & Corporate Services, and Projects Divisions.
birgu’S STREETS LIE SILENT, WRAPPED IN AN EERIE CALM. BUT INSIDE PAWLU GALEA’S HOUSE, CHAOS ERUPTS.
WHERE’S MY MONEY?
PLEASE… JUST GIVE ME MORE TIME.
I SWEAR I’LL PAY YOU BACK!
TIME’S UP!
NO MORE EXCUSES!
NO MONEY AND YOU DIE!
I’M GIVING YOU TWO DAYS TO GET THE MONEY.
OCTOBER 1837
THE BELLS RING … MALTA REJOICES. AFTER MONTHS OF DEATH AND FEAR, THE CHOLERA PLAGUE IS FINALLY OVER. THE CHURCH STANDS AT THE HEART OF THE CELEBRATION - A SYMBOL OF SURVIVAL. BUT NOT EVERYONE IS AT PEACE… AND DARKNESS STILL LINGERS IN THE SHADOWS.
TLING!TLING!
Forgive me, lord.
R R R i i p p !
A NIGHT OF PANIC AND SOULSEARCHING. FEAR AND GUILT CLAW AT HIM IN THE SILENCE. YET, WITH THE FIRST LIGHT OF DAWN, THE CHURCH DOORS OPEN. HE FLEES!
R R G U G U !
6:00 AM TIME FOR THE FIRST MASS. THE FAITHFUL GATHER, UNAWARE OF THE DARK DEED THAT OCCURRED WITHIN THESE WALLS.
OH MY GOD! THE CIBORIUM IS STOLEN!
A SACRILEGE! WE WILL BE CURSED FOR THIS!
SACRILEGE!
YOU NEED TO INVESTIGATE THIS CRIME IMMEDIATELY.
EXCELLENCY, A CIBORIUM WAS STOLEN FROM THE CHURCH OF ST TERESA IN bormla.
I ORDER A NATIONAL MOURNING AND THREE DAYS OF PRAYERS IN ALL CHURCHES.
THE BISHOP DECREED TO COVER THE ALTAR AND THE TABERNACLE WITH A BLACK CLOTH.
PLEASE, DON’T LET THIS BRING THE CHOLERA CURSE UPON US AGAIN!
I HAD TO DO THIS.
I NEED THE MONEY.
20 OCTOBER 1837 IN VALLETTA
GOOD MORNING. HOW MAY I HELP YOU?
I WOULD LIKE TO PAWN THIS SILVER CROSS.
THIS IS A VERY BEAUTIFUL PIECE.
DO YOU MIND ACCOMPANYING ME TO THE CONSUL AT THE MONTE DI PIETÀ TO EVALUATE IT PROPERLY? sure.
AT THE MONTE DI PIETÁ
A MAN CAME TO MY SHOP THIS MORNING TO PAWN THIS.
I THINK IT FORMS PART OF THE STOLEN CIBORIUM OF bormla.
WHERE IS THE MAN WHO GAVE YOU THIS?
I TRIED TO BRING HIM HERE, BUT HE FIGURED IT OUT... AND RAN AWAY.
21 OCTOBER 1837 in birgu
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
I’VE NOTICED SOMETHING STRANGE TODAY...
WE’RE LOOKING FOR THE STOLEN CIBORIUM.
Where?
FOLLOW ME AND I’LL SHOW YOU.
THE STOLEN CIBORIUM HAS BEEN FOUND! Bong!
LORD, HAVE MERCY!
PAWLU HIDES IN THE SHADOWS OF ST SCHOLASTICA CHURCH IN BIRGU. AS THE YOUNG GIRL TAKES THE VEIL, HE FEELS THE WEIGHT OF HIS SHAME.
YOU ARE UNDER ARREST FOR STEALING THE CIBORIUM FROM THE CHURCH of bormla! it was not me! no! no!
YOU HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED BY A NUMBER OF WITNESSES.
YOU WENT TO PAWN A SILVER CROSS IN VALLETTA.
I DIDN’T STEAL IT. I FOUND IT.
OH! IT WAS HIM! THIS IS THE SAME FABRIC THE CIBORIUM WAS WRAPPED IN!
YOU’RE ACCUSED OF STEALING A CIBORIUM FROM ST TERESA’S CHURCH IN bormla, ON TUESDAY NIGHT, 18 OCTOBER 1837.
YES. IT WAS HIM.
THIS CIBORIUM IS WORTH 100 SCUDI AND WAS FULL OF HOLY HOSTS.
I SAW HIM CARRYING SOMETHING UNDER HIS ARMS AT AROUND 6.15AM.
I SAW HIM WALKING FROM birgu TO bormla WHERE HE RESIDES.
WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THESE?
WHEN WE SEARCHED THE ACCUSED’S HOUSE, WE FOUND THAT JACKET.
AND WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS?
ITS TORN SLEEVE LINING MATCHED THE RAG THAT HID THE CIBORIUM.
WE FOUND THAT PIECE OF STRING IN THE ACCUSED JACKET’S POCKET. THE REST WAS ATTACHED TO THE CIBORIUM.
I HAVE 42 WITNESSES AGAINST YOU. HOW DO YOU PLEAD?
THE CIBORIUM’S VALUE IS 84 SCUDI, NOT 100.
LIKE MOST OF US, PAWLU GALEA HAD A ROUGH TIME DURING THE RECENT CHOLERA PANDEMIC.
HE HAD BORROWED SOME MONEY AND WAS BEING PERSECUTED FOR IT.
HE BORROWED MONEY AND WAS THREATENED WITH DEATH WHEN HE COULDN’T RETURN IT.
IN HIS TROUBLED STATE, HE STOLE THE CIBORIUM BUT MEANT NO INSULT TO THE EUCHARIST, AS HE CAREFULLY SEALED IT TO KEEP THE HOLY HOSTS UNTOUCHED.
Tick Tock! TickTock! Tick Tock!
THE JURY FINDS THE ACCUSED GUILTY OF STEALING THE CIBORIUM WORTH 84 SCUDI.
HOWEVER, THE THEFT WAS FOR ITS VALUE, NOT IN CONTEMPT OF THE EUCHARIST. WE RECOMMEND HIM TO THE MERCY OF THE COURT.
THIS COURT DECLARES PAWLU GALEA GUILTY OF STEALING A SACRED ITEM FROM A SACRED PLACE AND SENTENCES HIM TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT WITH TWO CHAINS, ONE ON EACH LEG.
wenzu ARNAUD, THIS IS YOUR CELL.
ZzZ...
I’VE BEEN JAILED FOR 10 YEARS FOR ATTEMPTING TO MURDER THREE YOUTHS. WHY ARE YOU HERE?
THE ONE AT THE CHURCH OF bormla? YES.
SO YOU WERE GOING TO BRING ANOTHER CURSE UPON US? THE WHOLE NATION’S TALKING ABOUT YOU!
I’VE BEEN SENTENCED TO LIFE FOR STEALING A CIBORIUM AND THE HOLY HOSTS INSIDE.
YES. THEY TOOK IT QUITE BADLY.
AND INSTEAD YOU’VE GOT THESE.
I KNOW.
IT’S EVIL TO STEAL FROM A CHURCH, MAN!
NOT
PROUD OF IT AT ALL. BUT I NEEDED THE MONEY!
AT THIS POINT, I’M NOT SURE IF IT WOULD’VE BEEN BETTER TO HAVE BEEN SENTENCED TO DEATH THAN TO LIVE LIKE THIS.
SHAME, ISN’T IT?
Killhim!
Killhim! Killhim!
HELP ME! HELP ME! HE’S GOING TO KILL ME!
THEY TOLD ME TO KILL HIM!
I WON’T LET YOU CURSE ME! YOU DESERVE TO DIE!
JANUARY 1840
FOR THE MURDER OF PAWLU GALEA, THE COURT IS COMMITTING wenzu ARNAUD TO A MENTAL INSTITUTION.
hehe he he ...
Under cover of night, a thief infiltrated the Church of Santa Teresa in Bormla, desecrating the tabernacle and stealing the sacred ciborium.
A frantic search ensued, led by two friars. Their investigation took them through the alleys of Birgu and Bormla until hope emerged in the form of eleven-year-old Franġisku Cachia from Żabbar. While playing near the Advanced Gate in Birgu, he stumbled upon a hidden bundle containing the stolen ciborium. Though stripped of its cross, the vessel remained miraculously untouched.
Church bells rang across Malta in joyous unison as the sacred relic was returned. A grand procession, led by Vicar-General Mgr Salvatore Lanzon, restored the ciborium to its rightful place, and for three days, the nation gave thanks in solemn prayer.
Suspicion fell on Pawlu Galea, a 67-year-old man who resided in Birgu, who tried to pawn a silver cross resembling the missing piece. His desperate flight only confirmed his guilt. Captured in the Church of Santa Scholastica in Birgu, he was convicted and sentenced to a lifetime of hard labour in iron chains.
Yet fate had a cruel twist. In 1839, within the prison of Valletta, Galea met a brutal end. His cellmate, the troubled Wenzu Arnaud, claimed to hear haunting whispers compelling him to kill. Seized by an unseen force, he bludgeoned Galea to death with a wooden plank. Arnaud, deemed insane, was sent to an asylum.
Meanwhile, grateful for the recovery of the ciborium, the Discalced Carmelite friars built a small chapel at the site in Birgu where it was found. The place became known as Fejn sabu s-Sinjur (Where the Lord was found). To ensure the story is never forgotten, a Latin inscription on the lower part of the chapel’s altar commemorates the event.
A sacred ciborium vanishes. A desperate hunt begins. In 1837 Malta, as the island rejoices after a deadly pandemic, an unspeakable crime sends shockwaves through the faithful. Two friars’ relentless pursuit lead through darkened alleys of Birgu and Bormla, but what they uncover is more than mere theft - it is a curse that lingers beyond punishment. Whispers of vengeance, a chilling fate, and a mystery that refuses to rest… Was this justice, or something far more sinister?
