Fr Charles Cini, SDB, writes:
Fr George and I were both born in the same year, with just a month between us. We spent most of our life together at school in Gozo and the Don Bosco Oratory and, later, in Italy preparing ourselves for the priesthood.
He was a very brilliant and intelligent man. Though he was not Italian, he was always first in class. He was admired by the other Italian students for the way he mastered the Italian language. He liked Alessandro Manzoni in a very special way and could recite parts of the Promessi Sposi off by heart.
Ever since he was a very young lad he used to write Maltese poems. My job was to transcribe them for him and, many a time, when he was not satisfied with the poem, he would want to throw it away but I would secretly keep them and, therefore, I still have many of his yet unpublished poems.
Fr George loved the Maltese language and Malta. Often, he would be homesick, missing his homeland – the island of Gozo.
He was also a very good actor and his superiors would give him important roles to play in famous plays.
He was a very sensitive man and he would always put others before him. He was a special man, very good and led a very simple life.
Fr George obtained the licentiate in sacred theology from the Salesian University in Rome in 1976. His thesis was about the existence of the devil. He taught various subjects in Salesian colleges in Catania and in Caltanisetta. He was appointed lecturer of dogmatic theology at Inserm.
Fr George joined the education department and taught Maltese, Italian and religion at Savio College, in Dingli, at the Naxxar Trade School, at the Technical Institute Michelangelo Refalo and, later, at Agius de Soldanis Girl’s Lyceum, both in Victoria.
He was a precocious admirer of the beauty of nature.
His first tentative writings were in prose but he soon discovered that poetry was the right medium and published his first poems in 1968. He was involved in various literary and cultural circles and also in philanthropic organisations.
In August 2008, as member of the Gozo cathedral presbyterial council, he was awarded Ġieħ il-Katidral by Bishop Mario Grech.
He had a special love for Our Lady of the Assumption and, every year, on her feast in August, he would dedicate a poem to her.
Fr George was a very shy man but once you get to know him he would become your friend. We would confide in each other and help each other overcome problems. He was a very generous man and ready to help others, especially the poor and the needy.
There is a lot to say about Fr George but the most important fact is that he was a very good man.
We will miss him and I am sure that Our Lady, St George and Don Bosco were there to welcome him into Eternity.
We pray for you but, please, keep us in your prayers.