Gozitan football fan on way to sainthood

Fr Mikiel Attard, a football enthusiast who would pray with players before a match and offer youngsters spiritual direction, is on the road to being beatified.

Gozo Bishop Mario Grech has appointed Fr Anton Sciberras, a member of the Missionary Society of St Paul, as postulator and Fr Daniel Xerri as vice-postulator.

“I have started preparations so that, in the near future, we will begin the beatification process of Fr Mikiel Attard,” Mgr Grech said, urging whoever had any information on Fr Attard to present it to the postulator.

Fr Attard was born in Nadur on October 1, 1933. The first of 12 brothers, he lived in Ħamrun till he was six, before returning to Nadur after World War II broke out. In 1945, he was accepted as a candidate in the Christian doctrine society, MUSEUM, and when he was 10 he started studying at the Seminary of the Heart of Jesus. Described as an intelligent, serious, well-behaved and exemplary student, he was ordained deacon by Mgr Ġużeppi Pace in December 1958, becoming a priest on April 12, 1959.

Fr Attard was enthusiastic in working with youths, organising monthly meetings and setting up a prayer group dedicated to Our Lady of Pinu.

He was spiritual director at the Nadur Youngsters FC where, aside from pre-match prayers, he offered encouragement and support.

On October 2, 1982, he formed the Gozitan Missionary Group through which he organised missionary expeditions to Egypt, Kenya, Ethiopia, Pakistan, India, Brazil, Tunisia, Algeria and Peru. Suffering from various chronic illnesses, among them asthma and Parkinson’s disease, he became bedridden in 2000 and died on July 30, 2004.