It is festa time again in Sliema. This time it is the turn of the parish of Stella Maris (Our Lady Star of the Sea) to celebrate its festa next Sunday. This is the belfry – photo taken from the narrow Stella Maris Street at around midnight yesterday. The church is the mother parish of the town of Sliema. It was built in 1853 and in the 1875 it was enlarged to accommodate the growing population. In 1878 the church was elevated to the rank of a parish church with an ecclesiastical jursdiction that included besides Sliema also Gzira. Since then with the ever increasing population, Sliema has been divided into 5 parishes and Gzira has its own separate parish. I lived in the area of this parish during my youth days. Most of the congregation of the parish are today old people.
