An example called Dun Gorg

The wish he carried along to his death-bed was not granted. He was not forgotten once his soul left his body. He was remembered throughout the 45 years he has been gone.

Now Dun Gorg Preca will be remembered for always as San Gorg of Malta. The canonisation of the founder of the MUSEUM lay society was only the formal confirmation of what those who experienced the presence, teachings and influence of the priest knew from the very beginning: He was a living saint.

It is given only to rare personalities to have the effect which Dun Gorg did and to leave such an imprint. His secret was not some connections network or hob-nobbing with authority.

The Church's authority on this patch of earth prevented him from fulfilling his objective for many years. The defining qualities of the priest from Hamrun were his unshakable faith in his God, which translated into a life of holiness, and his simple humility.

Dun Gorg was a man of the Word, never of the world. He preached the Word at all times, perhaps none more gripping than in some famous "sajda" - a conference to fish for souls. He was always humble, leading a life of simplicity.

If the MUSEUM society, now 100 years old, is the living monument to him, it is so in particular through the simple code he gave it, and which it has unfailingly retained.

Its members, drawn mostly from the working class, are distinguished by their lack of desire for distinction.

They were encouraged by him to serve God by serving their fellow beings as lay people, to be committed without seeking recognition other than in the form of results.

In dress and demeanour they were to be distanced from the maddening crowd so often bent on fashion and fame, yet to be an apostolate in its midst.

Against all odds, the dream of the quiet revolutionary was realised during his lifetime.

It has persevered and grown after his death. Today he is Malta's first saint, and many more people will look to him in their moments of need, and with pride.

Before he became that he was there, for anyone who cared to notice.

Not there as a bridge to a mysterious God for a miracle. There as a statement of what is most important in one's life. Of clear belief and sheer commitment, of action without bangs. That is the core. Anyone is free to add to it according to their bent and ability.

Yet without the simple core, additions are no more than artefacts without intrinsic value.

It is what was intrinsic to Dun Gorg in his lifetime and which has stood up to all challenge and cynicism after death that made him what he always was, and will remain.

It was that which made him a born leader of man. One who confirmed his being so through his success in being followed, though he offered no reward other than a strong faith in a greater nearness to God, and no matter how reviled his early followers. The event of the canonisation of Dun Gorg Preca attracted large direct and indirect participation. That was striking. Beyond the formality the essence of it all was captured by the Jesuit Fr Robert Soler.

He wrote in yesterday's Sunday Times to "set the record straight" in regard to doubts and cynicism poured by a "Preca minority" because of the miracle factor.

Before a person is declared a saint, Fr Soler explained, his life, his written works, his apostolic activity are subjected to written examination. Miracles aside, Dun Gorg became San Gorg on account of his extraordinary life of faith, his virtue, his teaching and his apostolate.

The humble Dun Gorg Preca led by example. May that memory remain the strength which San Gorg of Malta extends to those who seek his help.