On 31 October, celebrations were held in the Mdina Carmelite Church and the Mosta Parish church to commemorate the death of Fr Avertan Fenech.
Fr Avertan Fenech was a Carmelite friar who lived a very saintly life devoted to prayer and sacrifice.
Lwiġi (Aloysius) Fenech, was born in Mosta on 10th July 1871 to Duminku and Marija née Attard. The day after his birth he was baptised in the Mosta parish church and named after Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. During his childhood his parents always tried to protect him from evil and did what they could to steer him in the right direction. They were very conscientious, living a good and simple life. The first words Lwiġi learnt at home were Jesus and Mary.
When he was seven, he started attending a government school where he gave a good example to his class mates. His friends always admired him for paying attention and never disturbing anyone in class.
On 29th May 1881 he received his First Holy Communion and soon after was confirmed by Bishop Mgr Carmelo Scicluna. As a young boy he wished to become a Carmelite friar and as he grew older he felt the calling to religious life grow stronger. Some years later, his parents sent him for Italian and Latin private lessons in Naxxar to a priest who helped strengthen Lwiġi's vocation.
After two to three years, Lwiġi approached Fr Lwiġi Malfatti the Prior Provincial of the Carmelite Order, to ask if he could join the Order. He entered the Carmelite Order on 6th February 1888 in the Valletta Priory where he started his novitiate. He was given another name, as was the custom, Avertan. A year later on 27th February 1889 he made his simple profession in the Oratory of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Valletta under the Prior Provincial. Soon after he began his studies of Philosophy and Theology. He took his solemn vows on 27th February 1892, exactly three years after making his simple profession, under the Vicar Provincial in the Novitiate Chapel of the Carmelite Priory in Valletta.
When the Balluta Priory opened in 1882, he moved there together with his colleagues under the direction of Fr. Franġisk Raiti who later became Bishop of Trapani. On 5th July 1896, the Bishop of Gozo, Mgr Ġiovanni Camilleri OSA ordained him a priest in the Chapel of the Bishop's Palace in Gozo. A few days later he celebrated his first solemn Mass in the Carmelite Basilica Sanctuary in Valletta.
His first years as a priest were spent in the Balluta Priory where he used to hear confessions. Many people sought him for confession. He was considered a person of prayer and always kept God before his eyes. Those who saw him walking in the street would always be struck by the seriousness and composure of this friar.
In 1896 he was chosen to be Formator of students at the Balluta Priory. His students regarded him as a model of Carmelite Spirituality. He was later sent to the Mdina Priory where he became Formator of the Novitiate. Fr Avertan was also a Provincial Councellor and Vice Prior at the Mdina Priory as well as secretary to the Provincial.
In May 1919, he was chosen together with the Prior Provincial to go to Rome to attend the General Chapter. There he left a strong saintly impression on the friars attending the Chapter which was visible in his manner, his words and his personality.
The same Prior General of the Order, Fr Elijah Maggennis was surprised at the humility of this friar and the Provincial of the Carmelites in the United States requested him to write about what the true spirit of Carmel is, and what the religious could do to preserve this spirit. In addition to his meticulous service and sense of duty to the provincial office, he was sought for his confessions and spiritual direction. He left writings of simple and profound spirituality.
Shortly after attending a Provincial Chapter where Fr. Ġwann Azzopardi was chosen to be the Prior Provincial Fr. Avertan suffered an epileptic attack which left him bedridden for more than 11years which he accepted with an open heart. His confessor, the Dominican Fr. Parnis said that throughout his life he had never seriously sinned.
He died on 1st November 1943 constantly bound to the Will of God. His funeral was held in the Mdina Priory followed by his burial in the Priory's crypt. Archbishop Gonzi oversaw the exhumation of his remains in 1968. There is a lot to say about this friar who was a model to his fellow brethren.
May the Lord grant us friars like Fr Avertan who in this confused world can teach us and remind us of God's priority in our life and how to accept sickness and suffering.
I encourage you to visit his room which is still preserved in the Mdina Priory and also the priory's crypt where he is buried.
Fr Hermann Duncan O.Carm
Balluta