By the end of this year, over 73% of all Church properties transferred to the Maltese Government under the 1991 Malta–Holy See Agreement will have been registered, the Ministry for Culture, Lands and Local Government announced.
Minister Owen Bonnici visited the Joint Office, meeting its administration and employees to review progress on the agreement’s implementation. The accord allows immovable property no longer required by the Church for pastoral purposes to be passed to the Government for public and social use.
The Joint Office aims to reach 90% registration by 2027, with milestones set at 73% by the end of 2025 and 80% by the end of 2026. Minister Bonnici thanked staff for their work, noting that registering state-held property “creates more certainty and peace of mind” while enabling the Government to make such assets available for social, educational, and health projects, including social housing.
He also highlighted the role of digitalisation in modernising property transfer systems. Bonnici described the 1991 Agreement as “historic,” not only in strengthening relations between the State and the Church but also for its impact on making former ecclesiastical lands available for the public good.
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