Fr René Camilleri and Fr Anton Gouder have been chosen by Archbishop-elect Mgr Paul Cremona to be two of his closest collaborators, sources told The Malta Independent yesterday.

Fr Camilleri is a university lecturer who specialises in dogmatic theology, while Fr Gouder is currently rector at the Archbishop’s Seminary in Tal-Virtù, Rabat.

Their selection has not yet been made official because Mgr Cremona is still to be made head of the local Church, succeeding Archbishop Mgr Joseph Mercieca.

Following his episcopal ordination on 26 January, Mgr Cremona is to live in Attard together with a community of priests whom he has chosen as his close collaborators. Fr Camilleri and Fr Gouder are expected to be part of this community.

They will be living at the former residence of the Apostolic Nuncio in Attard, where Pope John Paul II was hosted on his visit to Malta in 1990.

Contacted yesterday, Fr Camilleri said that nothing has been made official yet but confirmed that he has been chosen to be one of Mgr Cremona’s aides and that he will also be living in Attard, following Mgr Cremona’s ordination.

Fr Gouder would not confirm that he has been selected as one of the new Archbishop’s collaborators. Nothing has been made official yet, he told The Malta Independent.