Anger within Curia over costly conversion of ODZ farmhouse for Archbishop Scicluna

Senior clerics within the Curia’s administration are expressing anger over what they describe as excessive and unnecessary spending from Church coffers to convert an old Outside Development Zone (ODZ) farmhouse near Buskett into a luxury country residence for Archbishop Charles Scicluna.

The Shift is informed that the project, completed a short while ago, involved a one-storey country house surrounded by approximately three tumoli of landscaped gardens and has already cost an estimated hundreds of thousands of euro.

The bungalow includes state-of-the-art amenities and features a 200-square-metre accommodation with a large kitchen and dining area overlooking lush gardens, three bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, and a study. The footprint of the whole Estate is three-tumoli and has been professionally landscaped.

The scale of the Curia’s expenditure for the Archbishop’s country residence has raised questions internally, particularly given that the Archbishop already resides in a Church-funded palace in Mdina.

Investigations by The Shift reveal that the property has long been in the Curia’s possession and has been used for decades by a part-time farmer and his family from Rabat.

About five years ago, Archbishop Scicluna identified the site as a potential private residence and initiated plans to convert it.

Documents reviewed by The Shift show that the farmer and his family were subsequently evicted, after which the Curia began developing plans for the property’s transformation.

Initial designs, drawn up by architect Andrew Ellul, the husband of the notorious Planning Authority official Elizabeth Ellul, included extensive upgrades, including a large swimming pool, landscaped gardens, and an expanded building footprint.

Yet the Planning Authority rejected several of the Archbishop’s proposals as they infringed policies regulating development in ODZ.

A scaled-down version of the project was eventually approved.

The Curia admitted that, beyond the Archbishop and the architect, Steve Mallia – a close friend of Scicluna – also played a role in the project. Mallia is a former editor at The Sunday Times of Malta, now a PR agent advising the Curia on its communications.

The Curia confirmed that Mallia was involved in decisions on interior design and furnishings on behalf of the Archbishop, despite holding no formal position within the Curia. It justified Mallia’s involvement by saying “he saved money”.

Questions sent to the Archbishop’s office regarding the total cost of the project, its intended use, and its necessity in light of the Mdina residence went unanswered.

What the Curia said is: “The one-storey property, which has existed for decades, is owned by the Archbishop’s Estate and has now rightly reverted to the Archbishop pro tempore (for the time being) for official use.” It is unclear why the Archbishop needs a country residence for official use.

“On 5 June 2020, the Administrative Secretary of the Archdiocese of Malta filed an encroachment report at the Rabat police station after the Church discovered that a squatter had carried out a number of illegalities on the site and had been using it without a permit for the storage of hay and animals, including a horse, besides the theft of water and electricity to the detriment of the Church.

The trespasser was eventually evicted and the Church renovated and repaired the place to make it habitable, at the Estate’s expense. The garden area has been reorganised and improved, retaining a religious theme, while illegal works were removed.”

On Mallia, the Curia said that while his company, PR firm Media Insiders, was engaged as a communications consultant, “no further remuneration has ever been received in connection with this project.”

Mallia was also appointed to the board of the Church’s media company a few years ago, later replaced by his business partner, Ariadne Massa.

Clerics told The Shift the Archbishop was using the rural house to host private gatherings with friends, mostly on weekends.