A well-attended mass celebrated by the Gozo Bishop, Mgr Mario Grech was said at the National Sanctuary of Our Lady of Ta’ Pinu on Friday, 12 August 2011. President Emeritus Edward Fenech Adami and his family attended this tribute. It was a well-fitting tribute to a wife and First Lady of a great statesman.

‘Both of you must have eternal patience with one another,’ words of wisdom given to my wife and I by Mary Fenech Adami on our wedding day just about a decade ago. Words engraved onto our hearts and followed by both of us ever since. Then Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami was a witness to our marriage at Żebbuġ Parish in Gozo and Mary accompanied him. She only told us those words with her usual smile, honesty and humility, but they meant the world to us. That phrase encapsulates not only how our lives should be, but also how her life was.

Being the wife of a leader of the opposition in dangerous times to say the least, then wife of the longest-serving prime minister in our history and finally First Lady to the president, is life-long service to our nation. We, as a people, were fortunate to have such a great couple as Edward and Mary Fenech-Adami in such a momentous period in our history. Mary, like Eddie, has given great service to this country. O Lord, may she rest in peace.

■ Dr. Raymond C. Xerri

Qala