P. Joseph Strickland SJ: a bridge between Malta and Italy, a century before the birth of the EUM Province.
Today we take a closer look at the life and work of one of the Maltese fathers who, a century before the birth of the current province, worked in great collaboration with Italian Jesuits in various communities on the Peninsula.
On 31 July 2017, the Euro-Mediterranean Province of the Society of Jesus was officially born, comprising the territories of Albania, Italy and Malta.
The relations between these territories have a long history, Albania for a long time being part of the Venetian province, while Malta in turn was dependent on the Sicilian province.
Today we know more about the life and work of one of the Maltese fathers who, a century before the birth of the present province, worked in great collaboration with Italian Jesuits in various communities on the Peninsula and whose date of his profession of his last vows falls today.
In addition to archive documents, it is also possible to reconstruct Strickland’s biography thanks to a publication by Fr Lorenzo Rocci ‘Il p. Giuseppe Stricland S.I. fondatore del Ricreatorio di S. Giuseppe in Firenze, cappellano delle milizie inglesi. Died in Malta on 15 July 1917. Biographical Memoirs.”
Biographical Profile
Born in Malta on 18 June 1864, he entered the Company on 15 October 1883, taking his last vows on 2 February 1901. He died, as the title of the monograph dedicated to him by Fr Lorenzo Rocci recalls, on 15 July 1917, a century before the unification of his native province, Malta, with his chosen province, Italy.
P. Joseph in fact belonged to the Roman Province and it was in the territory of the Province that he was active for most of his life.
He founded an oratory for boys in Florence, in a suburban area of the city in 1903, quickly becoming a point of reference for all the boys and their families in the city. The oratory’s definitive location was in Via Cirillo 2, where it remained active for about sixty years, animated by children intent on playing long games of football, attending catechism lessons or processions.
The Oratory was active until the mid-1960s, when it was transferred for about two years to the Company’s residence in the city, before being definitively closed. The memory of the Oratory and the adjoining football fields is still very present in the memories of many local residents, but also of Florentines who spent their childhood here.
Research into the activities and life of Fr Strickland could make use of various documentary and photographic material.
In order to reconstruct Fr Strickland’s path in the Society, it is possible to consult his personal file, the fonds of the residence in Florence, within which the papers of the oratory have been confiscated, within the Fondo Provincia Romana, the papers of the Mondragone College also contain photographs of the Jesuit.
It was at Mondragone that Fr Strickland met and worked with Fr Rocci, they were both teachers, and when Fr Lorenzo died he wanted to remember him as a Jesuit, professor and friend with the publication Il p. Giuseppe Strickland S.I. Fondatore del ricreatorio di S. Giuseppe in Firenze. Chaplain to the British militia. Died in Malta on 15 July 1917. Biographical Memoirs.
About Mondragone…
The father’s name has often been linked to the affair of the famous Voynich manuscript, which we will deal with in this column, since a letter from the collector’s wife would indicate him as the one who allowed the secret sale of the precious manuscript.
Investigations, which are still ongoing, into the archive material have not confirmed this hypothesis, so we will return to this interesting manuscript in a new installment of the column.
