The passing away in Gozo of Rev. Monsignor John Dimech filled all who knew him with sorrow, not least the people of Balzan whom he served for a number of years as a member of the parish presbiterium.

Fr Dimech was born in Floriana on 2 December 1922. He was educated at St Aloysius College and at the Sacred Heart Seminary in Victoria, Gozo, where the Dimech family moved in 1940 at the outbreak of the war. He was ordained to the priesthood on 16 April 1949. Back in Malta in 1950, family Dimech set up their residence in the village of Balzan which was to become their village of adoption till 1993, when Dun Gwann – as he was affectionately known by the people of Balzan – and his two sisters decided to go back to Gozo to be closer to other family members.

Fr Dimech lived a very active life. The Almighty will surely not chide him for not having made full use of the many talents he bestowed on him. In this short appreciation, I will not go into the merits of his work in connection with the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, of which he was Conventual Chaplain Grand Cross Ad Honorem, but will limit myself to one aspect Dun Gwann’s life: his contribution to the pastoral and cultural life of Balzan, where he spent over forty years of his priesthood. Among other pastoral duties, Fr Dimech was for a number of years the parish organist and director of the parish choir. He helped set up the intermediates’ section of the Legion of Mary and was also in charge of the parish altarboys. An initiative which filled a vacuum in the life of the parish was the organisation of regular meetings of Christian formation which Dun Gwann used to hold for adolescents and young people, apart from the long hours he devoted to confession and pastoral counselling.

A major contribution to the village of Balzan was the compilation and writing of its history. This task no one else could do except Dun Gwann, because throughout the years he spent as personal secretary to Archbishop Gonzi he had the opportunity and the time to examine meticulously the archives of the Archbishop’s Curia, as well as the parish archives. It was here that I came in close contact with Dun Gwann. When in 1972 we undertook the publication of the bi-monthly paper Hal Balzan, the official organ of the then Balzan Civic Council, Fr Dimech was one of the main contributors. As I was in charge of this publication, I used to give prominence to his researched articles by publishing them on the front page as a token of appreciation and encouragement to make him pursue his research. These articles were later collected by Mr Joe Felice Pace and eventually published by the Balzan Local Council. Fr Dimech’s satisfaction at the launching of his work Hal Balzan – Grajjietu sa l-1999, on 16 April 2004, in the old church of the Annunciation, was evident as he autographed copies of the book.

Through his research about our village and its churches, Dun Gwann can be credited with laying the foundations for future researchers of the history of the village. Though 15 years ago he had to leave Balzan, he practically never missed his annual visit to the village on the eve of the feast of the Annunciation to participate in the procession of the translation of the relic of Our Lady. He also gladly accepted the invitation to be one of the guest speakers in the 2005 festa when Balzan commemorated the 350th anniversay of its erection as a parish.

On a more personal note, it is with pleasure that I can still vividly recall and treasure my frequent meetings with Dun Gwann at his ‘Villa Cor Jesu’ to show him my editing of his articles or to discuss some aspect or another of the religious or social history of Balzan, as well as his words of encouragement to me, then a student in my early 20s.

Thanks, Dun Gwann, and may you rest in peace.

Carmel Bezzina

Balzan