It took ten years for the church to be reconstructed to its previous splendour.
On April 28th, 1942, exactly 83 years ago, Floriana, specifically the Church of St. Publius, experienced an incredibly dark day.
On that morning, during World War II, Maltese civilians heard the sound of the air raid siren, warning everyone to take immediate refuge. Many people who were present in St Publius church made their way to the railway tunnel. However, others remained in the church’s crypt, thinking that this air raid would be just like any other that they had experienced before.
Little did anyone know that German planes were flying from Sicily to Malta to carry out an attack specifically on Floriana, with the church of St Publius being their main target. The church was hit by five large-scale bombs, which also killed 13 people who had been sheltering in its crypt and left five seriously injured. One bomb also exploded between the belfry towers and completely destroyed the statue that represented faith and the front of the building.
In the presence of Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena, Bishop Paul Alphéran de Bussan laid the cornerstone of the church on August 2, 1733. Although several changes to the façade would later be made, construction was finished by January 1768, and the dome was added in 1780.
Pope Gregory XVI issued a proclamation in March 1844 establishing Floriana as a parish, with the Church of St. Publius serving as the parish church. The 19th century would see more decoration projects completed.
Malta began to be the target of enemy air strikes in June 1940, when Italy joined the war on the side of the Axis. The second half of 1941 had provided some relief after an intense period of bombings in the first half, but as Malta recovered as a platform for offensive operations, the enemy supply position in the Mediterranean worsened, persuading the Axis leaders that the island needed to be neutralised.
Malta experienced continuous day and night air strikes from the beginning of January until the end of April 1942. Even though they were primarily targeted at military targets, populated areas were not spared. Numerous other buildings and tens of thousands of homes were reduced to rubble. Because of its proximity to Marsa and the Grand Harbour, Floriana was situated close to military objectives. It took ten years for the church to be reconstructed to its previous splendour.
The Church of St. Publius is currently included on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands and is designated as a Grade 1 national monument.