Like all Maltese of good faith I rejoice on the occasion of the canonisation of our beloved Dun Gorg Preca.

However, it is not correct, as many insist, that St Gorg Preca is the first Maltese saint. It is a proven fact that the first Maltese saint was St Publius, First Bishop of Malta.

This is confirmed by history and by a number of eminent and noted preachers like Fr Marcello Ghirlando, Mgr Nikol Cauchi, Bishop Emeritus of Gozo, and the late Franciscan Friar Fr Bonaventura Fiorini to name a few from a long list who have delivered sermons on the occasion of the feast of St Publius in Floriana.

It is true that St Gorg Preca is the first Maltese canonised saint, as declared by Pope Benedict XVI during the canonisation ceremony. Many saints, especially those of the early years of Christianity, were not canonised. Two examples are St Peter and St Paul.

St Gorg Preca had a great respect for St Publius. Coming to the Floriana parish church on occasion to celebrate Mass, he used to insist on the altar next to the niche of the statute of St Publius. Furthermore, St Gorg Preca used to lament that the Maltese did not give due respect to Malta's first bishop, St Publius.