Cafeteria moved to lower floor in new plans for Paola church
New plans propose a discreet souvenir shop and a small cafeteria on the lower floor, currently occupied by garages, while designating the rooftop portico as an observation deck.

New plans submitted by the Paola parish church no longer include the controversial rooftop catering establishment, which was initially proposed between the basilica’s belfries for the Christ the King Basilica.
Instead, the plans submitted last week propose designating the entire rooftop between the belfries as an observation deck. A souvenir shop and a small, unobtrusive cafeteria are now proposed on the ground floor facing Triq il-Knisja, in an area currently used as garages.
The application still includes exhibition space within the belfry towers and an “interpretation centre” adjacent to the proposed souvenir shop. The plans, described by parish priest Fr Marc Andrea Camilleri as a “vertical museum”, aim to fully utilise six stacked rooms within each belfry.

The new plans follow an agreement reached in July, in which the government committed €400,000 towards the restoration project. Fr Camilleri described this as a “win-win” situation for all. The agreement had already stipulated relocating the proposed cafeteria from the rooftop to the ground floor.
READ ALSO: Paola parish priest: ‘At the end of the day we must pay the bills’
The original plans, which included a catering establishment with cooking facilities on the church’s rooftop, sparked significant controversy, prompting the Prime Minister to urge the parish to revise its proposal.

Fr Camilleri had maintained that the project’s sole aim was to cover the substantial costs of maintaining and restoring the majestic building.
“The cafeteria is the least important aspect of this project, but it will help recoup some of the costs to maintain the church property,” the parish priest told MaltaToday in April, before the government’s agreement.