The crowds of faithful who thronged to St John's on Sunday to thank Mgr Paul Cremona for the few years he spent as Archbishop of Malta were expressing the thoughts of many more in the church and outside it who could not make it.
Ever since he was appointed as pastor of the church in Malta, he has consistently impressed all those who met him with his very human qualities, his humility first of all, as well as his gentle air and encouraging words.
True, he does not seem to have grasped the essence of what is going wrong in the Church, which is why he felt he had to resign, but today the people in St John's and we as well, do not hold that against him. It was clearly beyond his abilities and maybe, we will see, it is beyond the abilities of most people.
Ever since he was announced as the new bishop of Malta, the public has welcomed Mgr Cremona to its heart. His smile, even on Sunday, is so very different from the face many churchmen present to the world; it immediately begins to win over people.
He went about his duties humbly and serenely. He made it a point to visit the parishes in his pastoral visitation, meeting people in the churches, children at catechism, church groups such as they are and had a kind word for all. He was, we may say, a mirror image of Pope Francis before he became Pope.
It is now up to the Pope, the Vatican, to appoint Mgr Cremona's successor. Wishing for a younger and stronger bishop may not fully express what is needed. But then, without knowing what was it that proved to be the cause of Mgr Cremona's resignation, we, and the church at large, are unable to see what the solutions to this problem are.
From outside, it would seem the church needs far more discernment to understand what is its role in 21st Century Malta. From outside, it is not one church that one sees, but a series of parallel churches living next to each other which do not communicate with each other. There is definitely a lack of communion inside the Catholic communion.
Beyond that, it would seem that the Church, not just in Malta, and contemporary Maltese society have gone their separate ways. The Church no longer is the core and heart of modern Maltese society: most Maltese have stopped attending church on Sunday, most young people do not abide by the Church's doctrine as regards sex before marriage, most married couples have long given up on the church's rules on contraception. The Church, in other words, no longer is a different name for Maltese society.
Having lost this pre-eminent position in society, the Church is at a loss what should be its role in today's and tomorrow's world. This is not only happening in Malta: it is happening all over the world.
And yet, one somehow intuits that the solution is a more human, more humane, church and church persons. Such as Mgr Cremona was and is. Those who want to play around with church regalia and functions can make do with a make-do bishop or a cardboard replica. Those who would want the church to be more involved in partisan politics had better realise this is the 21st century and that the bishop's name is no longer Gonzi. The core that time and again clamours for a reformed church had better explain what they mean for we have had many Episcopal changes over the past century or so and none seem to please these guys.
Meanwhile, a blessed and peaceful retirement to Mgr Cremona. And with many we would like to see him back in the Dominican habit as he used to be before he became bishop.