And so, another very dear friend has moved on to pastures new.

Fr Joseph de Gabriele, or just Fr Joe as he was known to most of us, in many ways reminded me of (St) Jean Marie Vianney.

Apart from his unassumingly wise and positive outlook on life in general, what I really appreciated most, over these long, very long, years of friendship, was his quiet sense of humour.

He was prepared to listen all the time and had the rare charisma to differ gentlemanly without any rancour. Yes, what a man!

My wife and I, like all Balzan parishioners – not least the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary and the guild popularly known as the Missjoni ż-Żgħira – will sorely miss him.

These last 15 years or so he found a loving refuge at Dar tal-Kleru, where he continued to work tirelessly among his priestly brethren and visitors all the time... until health dictated otherwise.

Fr Joe was an unobtrusive shining beacon to us all.

Rest in peace, dear friend.