19 December, 2011, witnessed the demise of a formidable Bible pioneer, the fellow Capuchin brother, Fr Donat Spiteri OFM Cap. Small of stature, rocklike in dedication to the Word of God, Fr Donat has been an enormous blessing to the Church in Malta and Gozo, particularly through his simple, sound and rich Biblical literature he left behind.
Fr Donat was born on 13 October, 1922, in Marsa, to Spiridione and Antonia nee Cassar. After joining the Franciscan Capuchin brothers and was ordained to the priesthood on 13 March, 1948, Fr Donat was sent by his superiors to further his intellectual training in the field of Dogmatics at the Gregorian Pontifical University and later Biblical Studies at the Pontificio Istituto Bibblico in Rome. After obtaining a doctorate and a licentiate in the respective areas of theological studies in 1954 he returned to Malta to teach the young Capuchin students.
From 1966 to 1988, Fr Donat was a Professor of Biblical Studies at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Malta. With Prof. Karm Sant and others, he founded the Malta Bible Society. Since the teaching and interpretation of God’s Word were part and parcel of his priestly life and mission Fr Donat’s help was indeed decisive in the opening of the Malta Bible Centre, Dar il-Bibbja. Among the various works which Fr Donat authored one finds, il-Ktieb tas-Salmi (Book of Psalms), Dizzjunarju Bibbliku (Bible Dictionary) – Temi Teoloġiċi (Theological Themes), l-Evanġelji ta’ San Mattew u San Luqa (The Gospels of St Matthew and St Luke), il-Ktieb ta’ l-Atti ta’ l-Appostli (The Book of the Acts of the Apostles) and many others are being published by the Malta Bible Society. Furthermore, Fr Donat regularly contributed to different religious magazines notably Dawl Franġiskan besides the numerous lectures and Biblical courses he gave in both dioceses of Malta and Gozo.
As many would already know, Fr Donat is undoubtedly synonymous with that quarterly booklet, Kliem il-Ħajja (the Word of Life), with the aim of making the daily reading and meditation of Holy Scriptures easy. From 1974, Fr Donat was the editor and lately the Director General of the publication. Besides the many local households that benefit from it, Kliem il-Ħajja managed to reach even Maltese and Gozitan emigrants abroad. Nowadays there are over 20,000 Kliem il-Ħajja booklets that are distributed both nationally and internationally.
In order to mark the 30th anniversary of this marvellous publication, Fr Donat inaugurated a Kliem il-Ħajja office and library inside the Capuchins Friary at Floriana, in which the main work of the publication is prepared for the press. Two local councils in Malta honoured Fr Donat’s fascinating contribution by bestowing on him Ġieħ il-Marsa and Ġieħ San Ġwann as an appreciation for his service to their community, whereas President George Abela, on behalf of the government and people of Malta on 13 December, 2010, awarded Fr Donat a Medal for Service to the Republic.
In his post-synodal exhortation ‘On the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church’, Verbum Domini, Pope Benedict XVI exhorted every priest “to develop a great personal familiarity with the word of God. Knowledge of its linguistic and exegetical aspects, though certainly necessary, is not enough. He needs to approach the word with a docile and prayerful heart so that it may deeply penetrate his thoughts and feelings and bring about a new outlook in him – ‘the mind of Christ’ (1 Cor 2:16).” Fr Donat Spiteri OFM Cap lived up to this exhortation faithfully and generously!
■ Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap
San Ġwann