During his first speech after being ordained, Archbishop Mgr Paul Cremona asked for the people’s prayers so he could lead the Church in Malta to the best of his abilities, continuously and tirelessly preparing the path for the Lord.

Mgr Cremona said he will be led by the Lord, adding that God always helps those who let themselves in His hands. He prayed that his Episcopal Consecration blessed all those who work within the Church and all those who gave their lives to serve the Lord.

He prayed for priests to continue to be a symbol of unity of the Church and for nuns to strengthen the Church, and him personally, with their prayers. Moreover, he also prayed for the baptised to continue to live up to their beliefs in their personal, family and social life.

Archbishop Cremona urged members of the congregation to pray to the Holy Spirit for the Church to be renewed to put into practice Jesus’ promise that He will remain with His people till the end of time. He said this is the message that has to come across because this is what Jesus preaches. This message is important because it was said by someone who is an expert in humility and who created humanity, he said.

In his speech, the Archbishop quoted Psalm 8: “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour. You made him ruler over the works of your hands.”

He continued: “We say we believe and spread the word that in every person there is an image of God. We believe that through our faith, we are seeing this image in every person. We have to continue spreading the word that this image lies in every person, man or woman, in those who have distanced themselves from the Lord and those who are perceived as hindering the Church’s mission. This image lies in those people who do not share our beliefs and those who are in Malta because they had to flee their country, in those children in their mother’s womb, in the elderly who are sick and sometimes abandoned by their own family. We must see God in every person, whoever it is.”

The Archbishop appealed to the Maltese to continue praying for their faith to be strengthened so as to pass on this faith to those who are still looking for the Lord and be friends with Him.

He said his mission, as the new pastor of the Maltese flock, is to prepare the way for the Lord in His mission of spreading love and pray for humility so we never deny whatever He wants us to do. “We pray for Him to purify our lives, especially what is hindering this mission.”

During his speech, Archbishop Cremona quoted what Pope John XXIII said following his Episcopal Ordination retreat in 1925:

“I did not look for or wish this ministry; the Lord chose me and He has to make up for my defects and complete my limitations. I feel and know that I am frail and incapable, another reason to be humble, very humble. I want to be solely devoted to God, full of love for God and for people’s souls.”

Archbishop Cremona thanked the Lord for former Archbishop Joseph Mercieca who was Malta’s spiritual leader for the past 30 years and who he sees as his collaborator in this ministry he will be taking on.

Concluding, Archbishop Cremona urged the Maltese to help him with their prayers. “I ask married couples to pray for me with their children. I ask the youngsters to serve the Lord in their youth, the sick to offer their sickness to the Cross and I ask every member of the Church to be close to me in this mission,” he concluded.