Canon Paulo Pullicino - Ir-Rabat, Malta - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

At this time Malta had undergone great change and much of the population was suffering from poverty. The country had been under a number of nations' influence due to its important position in the Mediterranean.

For a time Malta was part of the Kingdom of Sicily which also covered the island of Sicily and the southern half of the Italian Peninsula. Then on 23 March 1530, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, gave the islands to the Knights Hospitaller under the leadership of Frenchman Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, Grand Master of the Order. The Knights' reign ended when Napoleon captured Malta on his way to Egypt during the French Revolutionary Wars in 1798. General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois surrendered his French forces in 1800. Maltese leaders presented the island to Sir Alexander Ball, asking that the island become a British Dominion.

There was much discussion about introducing education into the island but there were opposing opinions about which language to use; Italian, English or Maltese.

Paolo Pullicino, elder brother of Judge Filippo, was the Maltese credited with breaking this deadlock, becoming the eventual Father of Maltese Education. He was a highly educated man, having gained a degree at the University of Malta, then attended the La Sapienza University in Rome and finally studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. It was probably the influence of the Sorbonne that ignited the French dream of Égalité des genres dans l'éducation et par l'éducation in him, and education for all. It is interesting that it took the studies of an academic at the French seat of learning in Paris to establish the educational ideals of the revolution in Malta, rather than the dictate of Napoleon's conquering forces. Though an ordained priest, who became a Monsignor and a Canon, he was appointed by the British administration to be the Minister of Education and pushed through these ideas. In 1850, Paolo Pullicino set up the first Scuola Serale or evening school for adults, in Zabbar. This educational strategy appeared to be a joint effort between the Church and the British Administration, who shared a common goal of education: the Church educating in religion and the government in the English language. The first lessons began in arithmetic, reading and writing. Canon Pullicino, with his belief in education for all and his ability to communicate with both the British administrators, the Church and the Italian grouping, was well placed. He also used his Church connections to announce the benefits of these evening classes at Sunday services in all the parishes.

The schools Paolo Pullicino set up grew, and in one form or another still exist today. As well as opening the schools, he set the curriculum and personally trained the teachers. Hence the English and the Maltese languages received more exposure under this new system.

The bronze bust shows Paulo Pullicino in clerical garb with a cross around his neck. Unusually for statues he is shown earing glasses.

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