Mgr Ġorġ Mercieca

In my childhood, in the very late 1940s and early 1950s - since my family lived some 150 metres down the road from Our Lady of Pompej church, in (then) Sannat Road, Victoria - all of my family used to hear the 6am Holy Mass celebrated by Dun Ġorġ Mercieca (later Monsignor of the Gozo Cathedral Chapter), uncle to the young Dun Ġużepp and his brothers Dun Ġwann and Anton (a teacher) Tal-Mewta, in a family of exquisite wine makers. Dun Ġorġ had taught me how to help in the celebration of Holy Mass in Latin. And since then, until I started to cross over to Malta as an emergency teacher in September 1960, early every morning I used to help Dun Ġorġ celebrate Holy Mass, for which the Dominican Sisters, for whom he was Rector and he used to say mass every day, used to give me at first half a crown and later 5 shillings every month for regularly helping in the church service.

After mass, the sisters would serve Dun Ġorġ and me with a cup of hot black strong coffee and a slice of Maltese bread, toasted on a live flame.

During those few minutes, Dun Ġorġ would talk about everything, but more frequently about his nephews, with special reference to Dun Ġużepp.

'Ġużeppi tagħna bravu ħafna! (Our Ġużeppi is very clever),' he would proudly boast about him. 'He would be going to study in Rome,' once he told me.

Later on he informed me - very very proudly - that Dun Ġużepp had been appointed a Lawyer in the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota.

1952 - Ordained priest

On 8 March 1952, when the Deacon Ġużeppi Mercieca was ordained priest, I was still under ten years of age. However, I was already enrolled with the Salesian Boy Scouts of Victoria. And I remember quite well the morning when the Scout Group - as in similar occasions - in uniform, with banners and some two or three bugles, accompanied the soon-to-be-ordained priest from his family's home in narrow Providence Street to St George's parish church, in Rabat, Gozo, where the Ordination took place. There was a photo of the occasion in the Scouts' Photo Album - as far as I remember - with Dun Ġużepp and his family walking behind the boy scouts.

 

1974 - Auxiliary Bishop

Sometime in the beginning of the year 1974 I learnt in a secretive way that Mgr Ġużeppi Mercieca was to be appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Malta. I do not recall who gave me the news and implored of me to keep secret about it. At that time I had already settled with a family of four, in Santa Luċija, Malta.

One day, as I was walking down the pavement on the right hand side of Merchants' Street in Valletta, I saw Mgr Mercieca walking in the opposite direction, on the pavement of the other side of the street. I almost ran crossing the street to catch up with him.

No sooner than we met, he stopped and took each of my hands in each of his in a loving way. We had not met for a long time before.

 'Ara Joe! Kif int? (Hello Joe. How are you?)' was his warm greeting exclamation.

I did not answer back but simply congratulated him for being chosen to become Auxiliary Bishop of Malta.

As soon as he heard me uttering the word 'Nifraħlek! (I congratulate you!)' he hushed me silent.

 'Please do not say anything for the moment,' he asked humbly, at the same time bursting into his ever joyful smile.

Humility was one of the most predominating characteristics of Mercieca. And he marked his bishop's missionck with this imprint as all those who knew him or had talked to him would certainly know.

 

1984 - Fit for the office

In 1984 the Government and the Church were 'in a dispute' about the running of the Church schools in Malta and Gozo.

When Mgr Mercieca showed he was adamant to keep the Church schools functioning and did not bow to the authorities' threat of closure, government officials had tried to bypass talks with the Church in Malta and established contacts and meetings with representatives of the Vatican, in Rome.

At one time during this saga, a friend of mine who worked at the Archbishop's Curia at the time, approached me and exclaimed: 'What a weak Archbishop, you have! Qisu p*****z! (He is very very weak! He is not able to take decisions!')

This person knew that both Mgr Mercieca and I came from Gozo and knew each other very well, and that is the reason behind his statement 'What a weak Archbishop you have!'

I could not give him any answer for the behaviour of Mgr Mercieca. All I said was: 'I believe he knows what he is doing.'

In a few days' time, my friend approached me again and in an excited tone exclaimed: 'L-Arcisqof tiegħek ġurdien xiħ! Ja makakk li hu ...' (Your Archbishop is really witty! He is very cunning ...).

The Government authorities had claimed a sort of 'victory' when they said that they struck an agreement with the Vatican about the Church schools in Malta. This went down very badly with all those who sustained the case of Catholic schools in Malta.

However, on the morrow, Mgr Mercieca published the true version of the facts, contradicting what the Government authorities had claimed.

It was a sign of the Archbishop's patience, and astute judgement, and relief for Malta's Catholic schools.

A person in the Government authority expressed contained anger at this move; he had to state that had he knew of the Archbishop's version he would not have spoken of the agreement he had, the previous day. He almost scolded the Archbishop for not revealing to him the agreement he had with the Vatican, before making it public.

 

1987 - Telephone call at home

One day Mgr Mercieca and I met; I do not remember what the occasion was. During our conversation he told me that he had a 'job' for me. He promised to fix a meeting and explain better what he had in mind.

I never kept a diary of how this idea developed.

However, one evening, while at table at home, with my wife and children, we heard the telephone ringing. My wife stood up and went to answer the phone, a little distance away.

When she came back she told me that there is a certain Ġużeppi Mercieca who would like to talk to me.

Immediately I realized it was the Archbishop who was at the other end of the line. Both my wife and children were surprised that he did not introduce himself as 'the archbishop'.

Mgr Mercieca had asked me to meet Fr Joe Borg and discuss the 'job' he had for me.

1988 - A new newspaper

Eventually I learnt that the Archbishop had put so much trust in me that he had asked Fr Joe to negotiate with me resigning from the post of teacher with the Education Department and taking up employment with the Media Centre of the Church, in Malta. He wanted me to start editing a new newspaper (in Maltese) for the Maltese Diocese. Later I expressed that my wish was that the Church in Malta starts publishing a weekly magazine similar to the Italian Famiglia Cristiana, not a newspaper.

But Fr Joe insisted that it must be a newspaper! It was in vain that I argued that there was no place for a third daily newspaper in Malta; the two major political parties in Malta had 'taken up the readers', besides other reasons, I insisted. As a matter of fact, I ended not accepting the offer and a weekly newspaper with a 'shabby' (in my view) supplement inserted in the centre started to be published instead: Il-Ġens Illum. The first issue was published on Friday, 29 April 1988. It closed down on 1 September 2012.

During the process of working on the logistics of publishing this newspaper, Mr David Bugelli (of 'Bugelli' stationery in Valletta) had bought a Photo-type Setting Machine to provide the pre-press material, while Mr Paul Saliba who had edited the weekly Leħen is-Sewwa for many years, showed concern about him loosing the job and about the weekly paper he loved so much working on with diligence and much of personal sacrifice. Mr Bugelli ended up selling the photo-type setting equipment, but Mr Saliba succeeded to go on editing Leħen is-Sewwa for many years after, until he retired; and the Church weekly he edited is still being published regularly, today (2016).

Some time, years after, Mgr Mercieca met me and expressed with me that he almost felt offended that I had not accepted to take up the 'job' he had so much trust I would take up and execute with success. However, it was only this once he mentioned this case. Although we met many times after the demise of Il-Ġens Illum, he never ever mentioned the case to me again.

1990 - Pope John Paul II's visit to Malta in 1990

When news spread that Pope John Paul II was to make a visit to the Maltese Islands in May 1990, I was enthused and felt the urge to find a way how to celebrate the occasion with a memorable donation to children. I dreamt of a small A6 size bible - in Maltese - to be distributed to all children attending primary and secondary State, Church, and Private Schools. I talked about this idea to Mgr Mercieca. 'This is impossible to execute in a short time,' he argued. We discussed the possibility of striking a commemorative light metal medal to be distributed instead. Mgr Mercieca gave me the go-ahead to try to find who would be able to make such medals and negotiate 'minting' some 70,000 medals for the occasion.

I approached a friend of mine who used to work in a factory which could take up the 'mission'. It was however found out that the logistics of having an artist work on a 'medal die' and eventually strike the quantity of medals needed were not workable. And this idea vanished in thin air, too.

It was this failure that gave me the impetus to work on a special issue of the School Children magazine Sagħtar; I was then part of the editorial board. The issue was a success; 33,000 copies were printed and distributed among school children in all primary and secondary schools, in Malta and Gozo.

 

1997 - The Millennium

Sometime around 1997 I dreamt of a project with which the Church in Malta could celebrate the year of the Millennium. One day, I met Mgr Mercieca and told him that I had an idea which I wanted to discuss with him in a quiet place. He asked me to meet him some days later, in his office at the Curia, in Floriana.

When we met he immediately asked me for the reason of the meeting.

I tried to persuade him that there is a great need of literary information about the individual churches in Malta and Gozo. I suggested that he takes up the task of asking each and every Rector, Chaplain, and Parish Priest, to start building a historical monograph about the church in their responsibility. I told Mgr Mercieca that I am sure that in every town and village in Malta and Gozo, one may find students and scholars who would be ready to help.

I felt, however, that Mgr Mercieca was not enthusiastic with my idea. I told him that this could be an interesting project with which to celebrate the Millennium year, besides offering the faithful - and school children - with interesting information about the churches they frequently visit. This could also be an extreme help to tourists!

The idea seems to have been an impossible mission for the Archbishop; he never spoke to me about it ever after.

2001 - Teżori fil-Knejjes Maltin

This is the title of a series of volumes, in Maltese, side by side with an English translation, of information about the riches of art in Maltese churches, profusely illustrated with photos taken along many years by Mr Tony Terribile (of Sliema), who also provided the Maltese text. The size of the volumes is A4, bound in a hard cover, and with a dust jacket. The last volumes in the series are still being printed.

Mr Michael Schiavone, director of P(artit) N(azzjonalista) Publications had asked me to collaborate in the publication as an assistant in the board. (I had been collaborating with Mr Schiavone long before.)

However, the beginning of the printing of the series Teżori fil-Knejjes Maltin - Treasures in Maltese Churches was a little bit difficult; at one time the pre-press work came to a stop and there was uncertainty about the publication ever taking place at all.

As far as I remember it was sometime in 2001. The Church authorities in Malta, as soon as the advert for whoever wanted to place a booking for the books in the series came out, had placed a regular lawful injunction on the publication.

At a meeting, Mr Schiavone expressed concern and was sincerely afraid that all the lay-out design and work that had been done were all in vain; the publication would have to be cancelled.

It was at this moment in time that I offered to help.

I asked for a meeting with Mgr Mercieca which eventually took place at 'Id-Dar tal-Kleru', in Birkirkara.

In our meeting Mgr Mercieca expressed the Church's worry that 'This publication would show the precious treasures in the churches and expose them as easy prey for thieves.'

I showed Mgr Mercieca photocopies of the design lay-out of the first volume ready for printing, and explained that the intention of the series was to give historical and other information about the churches in Malta, with illustrations reproducing the most important paintings and other treasures found in each church. I also reminded him about when I went to him and suggested something similar - a monograph about each church in Malta and Gozo - for the occasion of the millennium!

Mgr Mercieca was attentively listening to my explanation and at the same time turning the photocopies in his hands.

 'I had a bad impression of the publication,' he said. 'I thought it was going to deal only with the treasures in possession of our churches.'

 'This is interesting,' he said. 'I did not know anything about the history of the individual churches being treated in the volumes as well,' he concluded.

Mgr Mercieca was satisfied with the material he saw in the photocopies and with my clarifications, and there and then told me that the publication could go ahead; he would ask the people concerned to withdraw the injunction and told me to inform Mr Schiavone about this.

Michael was overwhelmed with this news.

And that was how to date 16 volumes of the series Teżori fil-Knejjes Maltin have been published, enjoying a readership and collection by many collectors of Melitensia; the last two volumes in the series are in the pipeline.

 

2016 - Mgr Mercieca is dying

On Monday 21 March 2016, I was hearing the 7.00a.m. Holy Mass at Christ the King parish church, in Paola. After the administration of the Holy Communion the celebrant asked the congregation to join him in the recital of three Holy Marys to help Archbishop Emeritus Mgr Joseph Mercieca who was in the last moments of his life. No sooner had we finished the prayers than I felt a cold breeze blow around me (I was sitting in a front bench of the large church). I looked at the back of the church to see if any doors had been opened; it was a windy day. It must have been about 7.20 a.m.

Soon the mass finished and the congregation started slowly walking out of the church.

On my way out, together with a friend of mine, the church bells began ringing. We were almost at the door. The sacristan of the church told us the bells were in fact tolling for Mgr Mercieca who had just passed away, which news had just reached the parish authorities. It was 7.30 a.m.

 

Au revoir

Dear Mgr Ġużeppi Mercieca, you are gone from amongst us! However, you left us with so many wonderful memoirs of you and your achievements for the Church in Malta. All those who spoke or wrote about you have found so many good qualities in you and your character; none have found anything negative about you or your actions and decisions.

I feel satisfied to describe you as just one of the most affectionate and true friends I had and have. You were also the most affectionate Pastoral leader Malta could have had in both troubled and peaceful times, and you drew the affection of the faithful, even those who felt/feel ashamed to profess their Faith - in which you were so strong.

I sincerely miss you.

Au revoir!

Joe

 

Copyright of photos with Mgr Joseph Mercieca Klabb Kotba Maltin