Salesian Oratory Senglea
The Salesian presence in Senglea began in 2008. Right at the edge of the Senglea peninsula one finds a beautiful church dedicated to Our Lady of Safe Haven and an adjacent cloister named after St Philip Neri which dates back to the 17th century. At the invitation of the Archbishop the Salesians replaced the Jesuits, who retired due to lack of personnel, in October 2008.
Besides the pastoral ministry and the celebration of the sacraments administered from this Church, the Salesians have undertaken to open a Youth Centre according to their tradition. The aim is to provide young people with a space to entertain themselves away from possible harm and offer them opportunities for growth.
With the help of leaders from other salesian presences we are trying to stimulate the members to discover their talents and use them for their own fulfillment and progress. Our main aim, as in all other Salesian presences, is to form good Christians and honest citizens.
In 2014 upon a request by Archbishop Cremona, the Salesians took over the MCAST Chaplaincy, opening the door for the Salesians to reach out to 7,000 students and 1,000 staff across six locations in Malta and Gozo. Today, there are five confreres forming the Salesian Chaplaincy Team at MCAST, four from the Senglea Community and one stationed in Sliema, with a number of MCAST students doing practical placements directly at St Philip’s, in Senglea.