Meeting with Pope Benedict XVI personally last Wednesday for the first time since his appointment, the Bishop of Gozo, Mgr Mario Grech thanked the Holy Father for trusting him with this new ministry. He asked the Pope to bless the Church in Malta and Gozo and, particularly, to bless his fellow priests and the families. The Pope agreed and sent his apostolic blessings. Bishop Grech was one of the Pope's first episcopal appointees.
The Bishop travelled to Rome to inaugurate the first General Chapter to be held there of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart founded in Gozo.
In addition, he attended the general audience on St Peter's Square along with a group of Gozitan adolescents led by the Salesian Sisters and a group of lay people from Xaghra led by Fr Joseph Bajada. While there Bishop Grech also visited various Gozitan priests just as he did during his visit to the United States in May.