Notables

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Giacomo Baldacchino (active 1551-1587): 1565 is the ‘great’ date in Maltese history when the Knights of St John, supported by the Maltese population as well as mercenaries from Italy and Spain, defeated a massive invasion from Sulieman the Magnificent’s Ottoman Empire, as the front line of defence between ‘the Cross and the Crescent’. It was a devastating period lasting several months and ending with only the last fort standing when a relief force was finally sent by the Viceroy of Sicily. At the time of the siege, there were 14 notaries operating in Malta and remarkably, one of these was Giacomo Baldacchino. Even more remarkably, a recent project on notary documents of this period has unearthed a writing by Giacomo on the day the relief force finally arrived and the siege was lifted. As you might imagine, it describes that the people ‘lay prostrate before God …’. A hugely unique and important find, this is the only account by a civilian found to date of such a momentous event.

Don Francesco Saverio Baldacchino (1774-1860): Francesco was born to Giuseppe Baldacchino and Marie Fenech in Senglea, Malta. His family was so deeply devoted to the Immaculate Conception that they had a wooden statue made of her in Spain, in front of which Francesco delivered his first ‘sermon’ at the age of 12. He was ordained in 1797 and became provost of the Oratory at Senglea in 1825. Being both a renowned preacher and meticulous record keeper, the library of the Senglea Oratorians is fortunate to hold 32 volumes of his sermons from 1798-1860, 13 religious poems written during the 1813 plague, three large volumes including his diary with 50 years of the Church of Malta’s history amongst other works through the latter years of the Knights of St John’s rule, the French invasion in 1798 and the early years of British rule from 1800. In the 1840s, he was successful in bringing the remains of St Placidus and St Celestine to Malta and, even though he lost his eyesight later that decade, he was given concessions to continue celebrating the mass until he resigned from the office of provost in 1857. He is buried in the church of Our Lady of Porto Salvo, Senglea.

Dr Joseph George Baldacchino (1894-1974): Joseph was a Maltese doctor turned archaeologist. He excavated the fascinating Ghar Dalam cave, where finds date back to the Paleolithic period and also provide the earliest evidence of human habitation on the island. In 1933, he became Curator of Natural History for the Malta Museum Department and following the war, he became Director of the Museum Department. He promoted much work on Malta’s megalithic temples, some of the oldest freestanding structures in the world, a number of which are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Numerous references to Dr Baldacchino’s work can be found online in the Bulletins of the National Museum of Natural History, Malta, first issued in June 2024.

Bishop Francis Baldacchino (1936-2009): Born in Marsa, Malta, Francis was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of the new Diocese of Malindi, Kenya. He was ordained as a Capuchin in 1961 and went on a mission to Kenya in 1964. Amongst many other accomplishments, he established a major seminary in Nairobi. Pope John Paul II appointed him a bishop in 2000 with oversight of almost half a million faithful. He remained in Kenya until returning to Malta shortly before his death. First buried in Santa Maria Addolorata Cemetery in Paola, his remains were later moved to the Capuchin Crypt in Floriana.

Roberto Suliban Baldoquín (1994- ): Roberto is a Cuban baseball player born in Las Tunas, Cuba. He began playing for Las Tunas in the Cuban National Series at the age of 17, the Cuban National Series being the primary amateur baseball competition in Cuba. The league was formed following the dissolution of the professional Cuban League after the Cuban Revolution. Roberto plays shortstop, second baseman and third baseman. For professional opportunities, Roberto defected to the United States at the age of 20 where he played in the minor leagues. In 2022, he was able to go through a repatriation process and re-joined the Cuban National Series where he has again played from 2023 to 2025.