JOY TO ALL MEN AND PEACE TO MANKIND
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Diocesan News
Bishop R His Lordship is to travel to Rome on his first Ad Limina visit to the Holy Father.
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s our readers may know Canon Law states that the bishop of each diocese must make a report to the Holy Father, every five years. Even though Bishop Ralph has only been two years on the Rock, it was a while since Bishop Caruana last went on an Ad Limina visit so this has come about earlier than His Lordship expected. He will make a report covering 23 topics, giving a picture of the Life of the Diocese and will have a short interview with Pope Benedict VIX to discuss the document. His Lordship will have the opportunity to visit some of the different departments of the Roman Curia, which is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See, and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church. Fr. Ralph will select the offices most relevant to Gibraltar’s situation and be able to meet with heads of departments there in person for valuable networking time. Fr. Ralph is scheduled to go to Rome on the 23rd of May, returning on the 29th, he will stay at the Redemptorists Congregation ‘head office’ in Rome, at the Alphonsian Academy in the Via Merulana which has specialised in Moral Theology since 1960 as part of the Faculty of
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Ralph to go to Rome
Original Icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in the Church of Sant’Alfonso di Liguori al’Esquilino Pic: Fr Eric Augenstein Above: Bishop Ralph Heskett
Theology of the Pontifical Lateran University. His Lordship may spend time before the original Byzantine icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour which hangs in the Church of Sant’Alfonso adjacent to the University complex there. This impressionable work of art originally hung in St. Matthew’s church in
Father Stuart in Poland
As this month’s magazine was being prepared for printing Fr. Stuart was away from Gibraltar travelling with a group of pilgrims to Poland. He is planning on resuming his normal ‘Dear Friends’ contribution next month.
Crete, but when that church burnt down the icon was saved and a new church was built nearby. The young boy who saved the sacred work of art grew up and became a Redemptorist. In 1499, when the inhabitants left the island, fleeing an invading force, it was taken to Rome. In 1866 it was returned to the care of the Redemptorists, to venerate in Sant’ Alfonso on the Esquiline Hill. Upon this Rock magazine is entirely supported by advertising and donations. It is run in liaison with the Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar by EuropeAxess Media Ltd. as a notfor-profit project.
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For Advertisers: This magazine is hand-delivered to homes, churches, hospitals and many businesses around Gibraltar every month. To discuss your advertising requirements, or promote your church group or charity, call Tel: 200 79335 email: angela@europeaxess. com
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Laguna Social Club 8.30pm 10th May. Food available. Tickets £10. More info from Matthew on M: 54006325 Upon this Rock magazine is published monthly by EuropeAxess Media Ltd, Gibraltar. Editor: Fr. Stuart Chipolina: editor@uponthisrock.eu
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Cover: Emmaus Youth Prayer Group Easter Weekend Group. Photo: Mishelle Hook WYD Sky-Dive Poster: Artwork Sean Ballester
Editorial is selected by EuropeAxess Media in liaison with the Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar. Neither of these parties is responsible for the accuracy of the information contained herein, nor do the views and opinions expressed herein necessarily reflect the views and opinions of either party. Advertisers are not endorsed by virtue of advertising in this magazine.
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Diocesan Youth News
Photo M. Hook
Diocesan You
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estimonies from retreatants and leaders came thick and fast on facebook: Ryan Castle I really loved listening to people’s testimonies, extremely inspiring, I hope many people can hear us and be curious to know how to get all these feelings we have.. & I also want to thank you for listening to me :) ‘be blessed not stressed’ xx Arlene Crisp Yet another amazing weekend!
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they just keep getting better! I’d like to thank all the leaders for making it happen as it couldn’t be done without them :) Every retreat I not only feel closer to God but I feel closer to everyone there and even more like a big family :) Many thanks to everyone who supported me all the way and hopefully see you all tonight. Bella Trinidad I’d like to thank everyone that has been there for me this
uth Sky Dive for Rio WYD Fr. Charlie weekend it means a lot to me that I don’t have to walk through life alone I have all of you as my brothers and sisters. This retreat has been amazing and I would like to thank everyone that made all this possible. Johann Guy Firstly I want to thank all those who participated in making this retreat possible and I’d like to say that this retreat has seemed to have impacted me in a way I never thought would be possible.. Never before have I felt such comfort and such happiness, I encourage all those who have the courage and opportunity to go to the next one and make God part of your life, as he is the happiness and the truth... btw He ain’t such a bad guy once you get to know Him :) I thank you all once again and I shall be praying for the strength to remain as i am full of God and life x Marisa Hewett I’d like to thank everyone that made this retreat so amazing and putting so much hard work into organising it, I feel a lot closer to everyone in this prayer group and a lot closer to God Leon Payas This retreat has really touched me as I was becoming and growing closer to GOD and it really gave me that push to carry on going to the prayer meetings which are held in the Community Center on Mondays at 9. What really touched me the most about this retreat was both the veneration of the cross and the adoration as there not only did I grow closer to GOD but I grew closer to a lot of people whom now I can consider my friends. Also I’ve learned that you should not judge a book by its cover
Photo: A. Sargent
Over 100 youth involved in the Emaus Easter Weekend Retreat. as you may not like a certain individual because of how they act or their personality but when you get down and talk to them you find the missing pieces to the puzzle and realize why they might be like that for problems which might have happened. Michelle Hook This retreat has been a blessing to see over 100 youth participating. From the moment we walked in to lead the Prayer and Praise I could see God in all of them! The way they have interacted with each other, the smiles on their faces, their motivation, all these things has proved to me that only God can bring so many youth together and do what He did over that retreat! Megan Cassar This was my first retreat, I was really embarrassed to go at first but I was convinced so I thought I’d give it a go. At first I didnt know many people there but its ridiculous how close I am to everyone since then. The retreat was amazing, it was one of the best weekends I’ve had in a long time, I had a lot of fun, met loads of lovely people and I got so much closer to God than I ever have before. The talks they gave inspired me loads and once it got to the end of the weekend I didnt want to leave! I am definetly going to the next retreat, and I love everyone there, its now like a big family , GodBless xxxx
The next Emaus Youth Group Retreat Weekend will be held on the 6th – 8th July 2012. The Youth are currently raising funds to be able to attend World Youth Day in Rio in 2013
dedicates his 50th birthday to WYD
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n the run up to his 50th Birthday Fr. Charlie Azopardi let it be known that, instead of a surprise party, or gifts he would like donations to be made to the World Youth Day fund raising appeal, and, in addition, he will be joining three young men on a Sponsored Sky Dive later this year. Speaking at a Concelebrated Mass on the 20th of April, he said. ‘We hope to raise £30,000 but I’m not jumping for less than £15,000!’ Sponsorship forms were handed out by his fellow jumpers that
evening. So if you or your company can help by getting sponsors, please contact Fr. Charlie at St. Theresa’s A non-residential CYC retreat for former members of the Catholic Youth Cell and Youth For Jesus, and anyone who is interested will be held on the weekend 11th, 12th and 13th May at the Catholic Community Centre. Starting on the Friday at 8.00pm.
Our Lady of Europe events
will take place around the feast day, 5th May, parish by parish, and a Diocesan event will take place towards the end of May.
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RCIA - Gibraltar
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his Easter saw the culmination of the Christian journey of Vicky Borda, Louisee Bruzon and Clive Barton which commenced in September 2011. The three catechumens were officially received into the Catholic Church by His Lordship Bishop Ralph Heskett at the Easter Vigil. They had all answered an advertisement in the Gibraltar Chronicle announcing the newly created RCIA program. RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for adults) is an officially recognized course for those wishing to embrace the catholic faith. It was offered by a team comprised of Fathers Derek Alvarez and Francois Sainte-Marie and a layman, Joe Garcia. Surprisingly there were also other people who asked to join the course although they were already catholic, simply because they wanted to learn more about their faith. The course is a CTS (Catholic Truth Society) catechetical program called “Evangelium” which teaches the essentials of the Catholic Faith. It is based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the materials
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are organised in the same fourfold way: Creed, Sacraments, Morals and Prayer. “Evangelium” is for all those who wish to deepen their knowledge of the Catholic Faith, whether or not they are practising members of the Church. This same course will be available again, commencing in September of this year. Our three “new catholics” are married to catholic spouses, and all of them were of the Anglican tradition. Their reasons for coming to the Catholic faith are as different as they are. Vicky Borda says that in the first years of her marriage to a catholic, they concentrated on the things that their two faiths had in common, but decided to raise their children as Catholics. However the catalyst for her wanting to embrace the Catholic faith was the first communion of her son. She says, “ I realised how little I knew about Catholicism and how wrong many of
Catholics
“God is a partner in my closest relationships, Christ is my guide. The Holy Spirit is my help.”
my ideas were”. To her credit, Vicky says “I was very unhappy with the idea of taking the children to church for baptism, first communion, confirmation and never again in between!” Her favourite catholic saying is “a family that prays together, stays together” By contrast, Louise Bruzon had been considering joining the Catholic Church for some time, not only because she was married to a catholic, but because she and her husband had decided to raise their son in the Catholic faith. She was also exposed to many catholic traditions through her work at the Loreto Convent. Louise says “Through my RCIA journey, I am now becoming more committed to the faith in that I now attend mass as often as I can, bringing my son and husband with me. I’ve realised that not only do I want to have Jesus and God in my life but that I need them as I need air to breath. In her journey towards the faith, Louise felt that something was missing in her life and that she has found this missing part through the RCIA course.
Clive Barton, on the other hand, shares that marriage and fatherhood have brought him to RCIA and subsequently to the Catholic faith. When asked what his expectations were before beginning the course Clive answers, “ I expected to be drilled into the practices of the rosary, the devotions and of confession. But instead there has been much more theology and more discussion than I expected. I have been surprised by the honesty, openness and warmth of those I have met.” When asked what it meant for them to be received into full communion with the Catholic Church, our friends had this to
say: (Louisee Bruzon) “ I consider it a privilege, something to be cherished. I do not take this hugely important event lightly. Far from it, I feel as if I have been given a wonderful gift.” (Vicky Borda) “I hope that this is only the start of my journey as a catholic and that I can continue to learn and grow in the faith and by joining the Church I am setting an example for my children...” (Clive Barton) “...God
is the partner in all of my closest relationships. Christ is my guide. The Holy Spirit is my help.” The RCIA team would like to hear from any of your family, or work colleagues who may be interested in commencing their own individual faith journeys towards the Church. The RCIA course will begin again in September of this year. Please contact: rciagib@hotmail.co.uk
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Gib Mission Africa - Gibraltar: Part 1
On a Mission in Africa “Our Christianity demands we promote the rights of the vulnerable and seek their protection, as we are all born in the image and likeness of God.” Fr. G. Grima
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r. George Grima was telling me about his hopes and aspirations for the continuation of the missionary movement “Jesus in Thy Neighbour” which this year celebrates its 25th anniversary. It is ambitiously undertaking the building of the first home for disabled children in the Prefecture of Jimma, (area 57,000 sq. miles, population 4,853,000, number of Catholics 17,840 approx,) in Ethiopia. This huge country of natural contrasts is located within the Horn of Africa and is the second most populous nation in Africa. This home will be the first of its kind in this diocese and Fr. Grima’s fervent commitment to the project was evident as he shared with me the awfulness of more than a million
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chained (often literally) to their disablement. They are stigmatised which leads to abuse and abandonment as related in the searing story of Kakura which is not unusual in Ethiopia. He suffers from muscular dystrophy (wasting) and for seven years has remained sitting on a dusty mat listening to the radio unable to move arms or legs. He has been orphaned, his father died of Aids, his mother committed suicide and his twin brother has also died. An uncle shares his hut caring for him as best he can. The prevalence of disease, especially Aids has made many children orphans and genetic predispositions often go untreated due to lack of or poor medical facilities, low nutritional levels, and there is the ever present danger from snake bites, wild animal attacks
and even a high rate of traffic accidents caused by poorly maintained roads and vehicles. These accidents often result in amputations. There is a constant threat from malaria which can lead to
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cerebral palsy, (impairing brain/ nervous system function). “Our dream, (God’s dream) is to build a home to receive these children”, Fr. Grima was telling me, illustrating the point with a story. “On my way to the airport coming back to Europe, the hospital called me saying they had a baby of four months with no limbs and would I accept him. Of course I said yes as
Anne Mesilio
The architect’s model for the complex ‘Cardinal Van Thuan’, that Fr. Grima is planning to build for disabled children in the Prefecture of Jimma, Ethiopa.
Left: This boy could not walk, he used a toy truck to drag himself around. Above: after an operation he is making progress in walking with crutches.
the other option was to ‘silence’ him”. My mouth went dry at the revelation of this deplorable truth but he continued, “These are the ones who deserve dignity as we defend life and though the home is not ready we have received another child Nabrato, nine years old, blind, weighing seven kilos, this child was suffering in a special way and my Bishop called
me recently to say that ‘already he is another boy’ under the loving care he has received but this is God’s work”. I wanted to take a break, have a coffee but this priest was caught in the urgency of doing God’s work and carried onamput. “The government are happy to give me as much land as I want and for the children’s good I am happy about this. The first phase will consist of dormitories, school, kitchen, multi purpose hall and refectory. The second phase will include the building of an operating theatre”. We will hear more about these plans next month. Meanwhile, Fr. Grima’s plea for help was eloquent.”Five pounds sterling would save a child from becoming a leper, there is a great need for help for Elephantitis sufferers, this is caused by mosquito infection and it is a dreadful condition. We need beds, bed linen, clothes, shoes, it is endless and we receive with blessings any
help we can get. We also have a great need for a large Cross with which to adorn our new chapel, in fact we need Crosses of all sizes as our churches are empty”. To help please contact GibMissionAfrica - Gibraltar, c/o Maribel Arias - Treasurer, 56 Kingsway House, Alameda Estate, Gibraltar. M 57561000. Email: marias@gibtelecom.net
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The Work of a Street Pastor
John Borda
Pastors on the Rock “In every town where we operate, late night problems are reduced.”
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s I write this, an organization known as Street Pastors is about to launch in Gibraltar. As a member of a similar organization, Town Pastors, which in Newmarket, where I live, has been going for three years, I thought I would share my experience of working in this exciting new field. Christ Himself associated with the tax collectors and prostitutes in his time, these days we call them sex workers and civil servants! So who have become the new “lowest of the low” in our
own time, and how can we get to know them and meet them where they happen to be? In many cases, the answer is young people who frequent bars and nightclubs, who are seen as drunken, disorderly and promiscuous. A great many do not deserve this reputation, but have it, none the less. But it is only by going out among them, getting to know them with their own joys and frustrations (many of which are little different from our own), that we can reach out to the human beings that sometimes feel that nightlife is a fulfilling escape from the stress of the everyday. I could tell countless stories of late-night conversations, where
these people have opened up to us about our lives, and, while we don’t preach to them, we have at least made a connection that may one day lead them closer to God. On more than one occasion, being able to talk to a “neutral party” means that they can vent their frustrations, for example, if they feel that they may have been unfairly treated by door staff, which means that they can calm down and go home without causing an incident that would need police involvement. The police are our greatest supporters, because they see from their statistics that fewer arrests are needed, and fewer incidents arise in total. Just the simple act of smiling and saying “Hi!” to the people as we meet them is enough to reduce the level of tension in an area. On the (mercifully few) occasions we have had to call an ambulance, the operator has had a clear description of what the problem is, and can advise and prioritise ambulance crews accordingly. Other times, a bottle of water can help clear the alcohol fog, so people can remember their names, where their friends went, what their address is, or a phone or cash machine PIN number so they can call friends or get money for a taxi.
But all that pales in comparison with the greatest weapon at our disposal- the power of prayer. The Lord Himself is our greatest remedy and protection, without which even the strongest of us would hesitate to set foot in the almost alien landscapes our towns can become at night. Where there is fighting- we pray. Where there is violent argument- we pray. Where we see crime- we pray. Before we set out and after we return- we pray. And wherever we pray, we see answers to prayer. A fight breaks up, an argument peters out, the police arrive in time, lost friends turn up, even someone with the right language skills (just the Newmarket Catholic congregation list 20 native languages!) happens by. Over the longer term, door staff and police get friendlier, certain types of people stay away (in particular, people trying to “pick up” youngsters from the under-18s discos), and the Town Council has come to see us as sources of advice on the “nighttime economy”, which few have seen first-hand. Now, some even come out with us to see it. Even our (Suffolk’s) Chief Constable, Simon Ash, has on
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SACRED MUSIC Combining Sacred Music from the Renaissance to contemporary American, this travelling choir includes members of the St. Joseph Music
Photos courtesy of Newmarket Town Pastors: Far Left, John Borda. Left, with clubbers. Above, on patrol outside a night club. more than one occasion praised the “power of prayer”. He has several years worth of police statistics to prove his point! In every town where we operate, late night problems are reduced. If you feel drawn to this type of ministry, let me set a few troubles to rest. In my three years of patrolling, not one night has gone by when I have not heard at least one unsolicited compliment from the clubbers themselves about the work that we do. Sometimes we get hugged, sometimes asked to pose for photos, sometimes we
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are privileged to share someone’s innermost thoughts when they see the emptiness in their lives. None of us have been harmed, just occasionally jostled when we were close to fights. Many clubbers feel a lot safer (so are more likely to go out, which is good for the clubs), some are drinking more responsibly, many will not get the police record (and damaged life chances) that their previous behaviour would have secured them. We have made many friends, not just among the clubbers, door
staff, lap and pole dancers, local government and police, but also among the other Christian denominations who are part of this initiative. Where churches work together, not only are they reinvigorated, but secular agencies come to see us as valuable allies, rather than obstacles to “political correctness”. We have, and continue to be, richly blessed as a result of this ministry. Some of you, like me, have been to Jerusalem and walked where Christ walked in times past. This is an opportunity
Makers, the Bay Chorale, the Divas & Dons and their guests.
7pm Thurs. 17th May St Theresa’s Church Retiring Collection
to walk where He would today. I wish the Gibraltar Street Pastors every success, and would encourage all Christians to consider joining. Gibraltar Street Pastors can be found on Facebook and via www. streetpastors.co.uk John Borda is Treasurer of Newmarket Town Pastors www.newmarkettownpastors.org.uk His wife and two adult step-children are also part of the scheme.
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Dr. Monique Risso
The Catechism and Porn Pornography - a topic many prefer not to
discuss and a “culture” that is slowly becoming popular and tolerated, has crept into all our surroundings (advertising, television, films, books, magazines etc), if “Sexuality affects all aspects of the human person”,* what impact does Pornography have on us?
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et us explore further, what the Catechism teaches us about Pornography: 2523 There is a modesty of the feelings as well as of the body. It protests, for example, against the voyeuristic explorations of the human body in certain advertisements, or against the solicitations of certain media that go too far in the exhibition of intimate things. Modesty inspires a way of life which makes it possible to resist the allurements of fashion and the pressures of prevailing ideologies. This is explained more clearly (in layman’s terms) in the Youcat: 412 Why is the production and consumption of pornography a sin against charity? Someone who misuses love by detaching human sexuality from the intimacy of a committed, loving relationship between two spouses and turns it into commercial goods sins seriously. Anyone who produces, buys or consumes pornographic materials violates human dignity and seduces others to sin. [2523] Pornography is a degenerate form of prostitution, for here too there is the suggestion that man can get “love” for money. Models and actors, producers and distributors are equally involved in this serious offense against charity and human dignity. Anyone who consumes pornographic materials, visits pornographic websites, or participates in pornographic events finds himself in the wider circle of prostitution and supports the dirty, billion-dollar business of selling sex. In the following article, written to men, Jason Evert explains the true nature of the damaging effect of pornography: (published online at: www.theporneffect.com/jason-evert/94-jason-evertt
Swimsuit Magazines?
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et’s say you meet a beautiful woman, and the two of you become best friends. Before long, you’re in love, and eventually you ask her to marry you. The two of you go off to your honeymoon, and return to discover that she’s now pregnant with your first child, a little girl. When the baby arrives, you’re the first to see her in the delivery room. Tears fill your eyes as you look at this miniature version of your bride. You’re in love all over again, and you stand in awe of what you and your wife and your God have created. You raise her with love, teach her to ride a bike, and swoop her into your arms if she ever stubs her knee. She’s your princess, and you’re her king, and the both of you know it. Years go by, and you begin to raise a family. Today, it’s her seventeenth birthday and so she has a pool party with her friends. She walks out of the house in her bathing suit, and your son takes the opportunity to grab his digital camera and take pictures of her. Since she’s so attractive, he publishes the pictures, and even puts them on the Internet. Before too long, there are hundreds of thousands of strange men across the world lusting after your princess. They stare at her body, and make all sorts of sick jokes about what they think of her, and what they’d like to do to her. At this point, how do you feel? Would you be comforted if they said they were “just appreciating the beauty of womanhood?”
Why we seek purity
Now imagine the heart of God the Heavenly Father, who loves his daughters infinitely more than you or I could ever love ours. The women in swimsuit magazines are daughters of the King of Heaven, whether they realize it or not. What’s sad is that we sons have made a market selling His daughters. For this reason, Pope John Paul II challenges us: “each man must look within himself to see whether she who was entrusted to him as a sister in humanity . . . has not become in his heart an object of adultery.”(1) We’re called to treat women with the honor, purity, and reverence that we would expect all men to treat our daughters with. I had all the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues back in high school, and I knew all the reasons why it supposedly wasn’t that bad. Granted, none of these arguments really convinced me, but why would I care? I just enjoyed seeing the women. Before I could realize or stop it, the way I saw all women became warped. My standard of physical beauty became that of impossible perfection. As the eye wanders from one page to the next in the magazine with lust, your eyes begin to gaze from one girl to the next in the mall or on campus. Before long, you assume that constant lust is pretty much natural for a teenage guy. Then, we see girls in school or even at church, and without even realizing it, we are turning them into objects. We begin to measure the value of a woman by how much lust she generates in us. We become shallower and shallower. Meanwhile, we lull our consciences to sleep by saying that it really won’t affect us that much. The images of porn brand themselves into our minds, and I know all too well how long it takes to erase them. But it isn’t just the images that stick with you. Your wandering eyes stay with you. They don’t turn off and stay on one girl when you enter a relationship. You trained them to look at everything that could possibly arouse them. They became gluttons for lust. Now married, I still feel the effects of the porn and swimsuit magazines I looked at over ten years ago. It trains you to have unfaithful eyes: to wander with your eyes towards every attractive woman around. I’m not talking about lusting after every woman, but having a tendency to want to look at every beautiful woman within a hundred yards of you. But my eyes, like my heart and my body, belong to Crystalina (my wife) alone. If I know there is an attractive woman walking my way in the mall, I should look somewhere else, instead of needing to at least glance at her. Now, it’s no sin just to see a beautiful woman, but we must re-train ourselves for monogamy (one wife), because porn trains us to have mental polygamy (many wives). What do you do when you see a gorgeous woman? I recommend that you say in your heart the words of Psalm 84: “How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Mighty God.” Because every person is a temple of the Holy Spirit, we can rightly thank God for the beauty of where he dwells. *Catechism of the Catholic Church [2332] 1 Pope John Paul II, apostolic letter, Mulieris Dignitatem 14 (On the Dignity and Vocation of Women), (Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 1988).
Dr Monique Risso MB ChB MRCGP mrissofertilityspice@hotmail.co.uk General Practitioner and NaPro Technology Physician Specialist Medical Clinic, Unit 7, 1st Floor, ICC Building, Casemates Square, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 49999 www.ladyofeuropefertilitycare.com
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Tracing Ancestries through Church Records
Tracing our Roots Have you ever wanted to trace your ancestry?
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t is something that I have always been interested in and I made some progress researching my Gibraltarian ancestors back to 1759, over 30 years ago at the Cathedral. In recent months, I have had great success in going back much further to my ancestors who came from Italy – right back to 1590! This is due to now having the internet and the good fortune of being put in contact with a committed Genoese archivist called Emilio Rombo. Many Gibraltarian families can be traced back to this area. In 1978 I called on Fr. Liam Ford, who at the time looked after the Cathedral records of Births, Deaths and Marriages, to see if he could help me trace my family tree. He was very amenable
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to doing so and I gave him details of my father’s date of birth and the names of his parents and grandparents – the extent of my knowledge of the Sciacalugas’ ancestry. I did not know of any other Sciacaluga outside my family, besides another branch who spell it slightly differently. To me, my family were the only Sciacalugas in the world at the time. Of course this was in the days before the internet, or personal computers. Fr. Ford asked me to leave it with him and call back a week later. With little expectation I climbed the steps up to the office and, as I rounded the corner, a beaming Fr. Ford happily told me that he had very good news. He had managed to find records of my ancestors six generations back
from me to Bartolome and his wife Camila, both born in Sestri, Genoa. I was stunned and delighted as I handled the certificates of Extracts from the Registry of Baptisms and Marriages of St Mary the Crowned. I felt very proud to have a long history certified with the cathedral’s official rubber stamps and detailed information of the volumes and folios in which they were found. My late uncle Bill Cumming was the first Government Archivist, on a part time basis after he retired from the civil service. I went straight to see him at his office in the back yard of the Convent to show off my ‘treasure trove’ knowing that he would be very interested and empathic about it. He knew that many Genoese who came to Gibraltar were from Sestri Ponente (west). We delved through piles of files and he found me a census dated 1777 with more information and evidence. Bart had arrived in Gibraltar in 1759 and was 27 years old. He had worked as a boatman and a tailor. Perhaps he made or repaired uniforms for the soldiers based on the rock. I was lucky in tracing back my Gibraltar roots in that the Sciacalugas stayed on the Rock and that they were Catholics and kept their faith enough to ensure they married in church and baptised their children. The Roman Catholic Church in Italy started keeping records in 1543 so this has greatly facilitated my searches. My brother Dennis visited Sestri Ponente years ago and came back with a photo of himself posing under a street sign, Via Angelo Sciaccaluga and a page torn out of a public telephone book listing the Sciacalugas. To my surprise, most of my namesakes were spelt Sciaccaluga with a double ‘c’. I was hungry for more. I wanted to establish Bart’s birth in Sestri. Attempts to further this research by post were fruitless.
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When I first connected up to the internet and entered Sciacaluga I found one in Argentina. Little by little I found a few more there and some in France. One of them in France gave an email address. He was Daniel, my son’s namesake! I persuaded Daniel who was in his early years at Bayside School to write to him in French. We had a very nice and naturally, surprised reply. But my French namesake could not help us further our search. Over the years more and more Sciacalugas emerged on the ‘net but still no breakthrough. I emailed churches in Genoa using Google Translate and had many undelivered notifications and no replies. Last November, sometime after my last attempt at emailing Genoese churches, an email with an ‘.it’ suffix arrived in my inbox. I opened it casually and found three lines in meaningless Italian and three very meaningful photo attachments. Presto! Not quite winning the lottery, but it gave me what must have been a similarly delightful feel-good-factor. The first was Bart’s baptismal entry which did not quite tally with his age, as quoted in the Gibraltar 1774 census. The other two were photos of his marriage certificate to Camila and her own birth certificate. I was able to glean that the priest had passed my email on to his archivist, who said that there was more information on my family and to advise him if I was interested. I expressed my willingness to know more and posted off a donation. Four days later Emilio Rombo emailed me, introducing himself as the archivist
Kenneth Sciacaluga
Bartolome Sciacaluga’s baptismal entry in Our Lady of the Assumption, Sestri Ponente at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption. He has a passion for local history and an ancestry with its roots anchored in Sestri Ponente, dating back to the 16th century. He said that, as he does not speak English or Spanish, he would write using simple sentences which I could easily translate using Google Translate. He also sent me transcripts of the baptismal and marital entries which I had received. This was essential as I had spent many hours trying to analyse the entries which were in Latin, heavily abbreviated and handwritten. As a result
of his visiting the various churches in Sestri I now have knowledge leading back to Bart’s and Camila’s great grand parents as far as 1590. Emilio has done sterling work for me. He has a very professional manner giving explanations, paying great attention to detail and his very co-operative attitude, as for example, when I had a lead of a Sciacaluga born in 1637 in another district of Genoa he has been willing to check it out. He has not yet exhausted all the research he can do on my ancestors.
Above: Archivist Emilio Rombo with Fr. Charles Bruzon. Left: The Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption, Sestri Ponente, Genoa. I put it to him that I was seeing very many familiar Gibraltar names in the photos. He replied saying that he had met Fr Charles Bruzon and his father Luis in 2009 when they visited Sestri. They were thrilled to find records of their family with his help. Emilio is aware of Genoese names in Gibraltar, as he has read the L’Onomastica D’Origine Ligure a Gibilterra by Fiorenzo Toso. This a study into the history of the migration to Gibral-
tar, the Llanito ‘language’ and an analytical comparison between surnames common to Gibraltar and Liguria which can be found on the internet. Having found such a helpful contact in Genoa it occurred to me that there may well be others in Gibraltar who may want research carried out in Genoa. Emilio Rombo can be contacted at: Via Cerruti 15/17 151654 GENOVA email:emilio.rombo@gmail.com
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