Throughout his 30 years at the helm of the Church in Malta, Archbishop Joseph Mercieca was a shining example of a wise, prudent, humble and gentle pastor whose priorities included communicating and witnessing Christ, promoting evangelical values and the Church’s social teaching, striving for the common good, and invariably be an instrument for fraternal unity.

As head of the Church in Malta, Mgr Mercieca piloted, among other initiatives, the setting up of the Archdiocese’s various secretariats and commissions, the publication for the first time of the Church’s aggregated financial accounts, the signing of the Church-State agreements on Church schools and Church property, and a Diocesan Synod.

The Church schools and property crisis of the 1980s was undoubtedly the biggest test to his leadership qualities.

He had to bear, among so many other strains, a massive spate of misinterpretation, provocation, vilification as well as hostility.

Yet he remained calm and stood his ground with all the human and spiritual dignity his pastoral leadership required of him for the ultimate benefit of the Church and society as a whole.

Inspired by his motto “We are all brethren in Christ”, Mgr Mercieca constantly advocated love and unity. He invariably preached, by word and deed, against division and all sorts of violence. Although violence was repeatedly used against him, he continued to preach forgiveness, condemning every form of retaliation to provocation and violence. He believed in calm and civil dialogue.

During the schools’ crisis, there may have been people who would perhaps have preferred to see Mgr Mercieca responding or acting differently to certain harsh charges, abuses or stances.

He believed that in calling woman to motherhood, God entrusted the human being to her in an entirely special way

However, he used to suffer everything in silence because his ultimate aim was to strive for just and durable solutions for the good of all.

His fine mind, spirit of self-sacrifice, sense of optimism and warm heart knew when to remain hushed, when to speak, and what to say. It was through and as a direct result of his sage, realistic and forward-looking leadership that things did not escalate into some terribly grave twist in the country. When the sea used to be very rough, he knew how to wait patiently until it calmed down before making the next move. He never panicked.

“All along my episcopal ministry, whatever happened, I continued to always pray God to keep helping me continue to love, to be a voice striving for the best of the common good, to be an instrument that brings and sustains unity among our people, whatever the personal sacrifice this would require of me,” said Mgr Mercieca in January 2007, at the end of his service as Archbishop.

Mgr Mercieca consistently used to preach the Gospel and the teachings of the Church according to the signs of the times. His priorities included marriage and the family.

His defence of the family was a hallmark of his episcopate and marked it till the very end of his pastoral mission. Time and again he encouraged social legislation and policy to support the durability of marriage and to protect the family and its unity always better.

The family was also at the centre of his January 2007 Thanksgiving Mass at the end of his episcopate. He called upon society to understand and value the deep mystery of marriage between a man and a woman. He also appealed to promote marriages that endure and strive for steadfast families.

Mgr Mercieca strongly held that although many things change in cultural and social evolution, it remains a fact that it is woman who conceives, carries and delivers the children of men.

He believed that this is not merely a biological fact, but entails a wealth of what Pope Francis describes as “implications both for woman herself, her way of being, and for her relationships, her relation to human life and to life in general.” He further believed that in calling woman to motherhood, God entrusted the human being to her in an entirely special way.

Certain pronouncements of Mgr Mercieca in his constant emphasis about the complementary natural role and responsibilities of both parents, particularly the mother, in the care of their children, especially in their first years, may have led to a certain amount of debate and, occasionally, even unfair interpretations.

Still, his teachings about marriage and the family were invariably in line with the Church’s social teaching, also propelled by his convictions about the best interest of marriage, the family and society.

After his retirement he continued to emphasise Christ’s and the Church’s teaching about marriage and the family, also in a number of newspaper articles he wrote and were published.

The highlight of Archbishop Mercieca’s final years as head of the Archdiocese was the unprecedented exercise of the 1999-2003 Diocesan Synod, which he envisaged as a time of renewal for the Church in Malta.

Announcing the findings of the Synod and the plans for their implementation, way back in 2003, Archbishop Mercieca indicated what may be considered as the pastoral roadmap he wished to propose for the future of the Church in Malta.

Pope definitely knew what was brewing in Malta when he picked Mgr Mercieca

Mgr Mercieca said the Synod showed “that we must be a Church that is committed to a new evangelisation, and also a Church that takes its ongoing formation seriously.” He also had bridge-building in mind: “We should give witness to communion and work for the unity of all our brothers and sisters. We should also work with contemporary society in a spirit of dialogue.”

Archbishop Mercieca saw the Synod as an inspired encouragement to God’s people in Malta “to be a Church that always works with a spirit of service, which means that we must also work for a just society. It encourages us to work with a spirit of solidarity, giving special attention to those who have moved away from the Church, or who feel they are not accepted fully.”

Since 2007, when his service as head of the Archdiocese came to an end, Mgr Mercieca had the opportunity to concentrate better on the pastoral work that was very close to his heart, primarily being close to the sick and the afflicted. Mgr Mercieca has always been very close to the sick.

For many, many years he used to make it a point to regularly visit hospitalised people, and one of the experiences dearest to him was accompanying the sick in an annual pilgrimage to Lourdes. He used to see the purest reflection of God’s mercy in the Mother of God.

In his own unassuming and humble way, Mgr Mercieca continued to give true witness to his belief that whoever one may be, whatever one may have gone through in life, God and Christ’s Church remain with their arms wide open to embrace one anew.

Archbishop Mercieca was the pastor the Church in Malta and our nation greatly needed him at the time when Pope Paul VI chose him as the successor of Archbishop Michael Gonzi.

The Pope definitely knew what was brewing in Malta when he picked Mgr Mercieca, also telling him that a very heavy cross was awaiting him as the head of the Church in Malta.

Mgr Mercieca shouldered that cross with evangelical courage and dignity, sustained by an immeasurable faith in God and a genuine love for one and all, abundantly convinced that there is good in every human being.

Death has now ushered him into the kingdom of peace and eternal light. May the Good Lord, whom he served as best and honestly as he could, welcome him to the place the Father of life prepared for his friends, faithful servants of the Gospel and of the Church.

Charles Buttigieg is a former public relations officer to the Curia.

Archbishop Mercieca’s years

From Victoria to Mdina

1928 Born in Victoria on November 11 to Saverio and Giovanna Vassallo.

1952 Ordained priest by Bishop Paolo Pace on March 8. The ordination ceremony took place at St James’s church in Victoria together with that of Fr Saverio Calleja.

1969 Pope Paul VI appointed Mgr Mercieca judge of the Sacred Romana Rota, where he was was mainly involved in deciding on marriage nullity applications from all over the world. He also served as consultore (adviser) to the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith.

1974 Pope Paul VI appointed him auxiliary to Archbishop Michael Gonzi on July 27. He was consecrated bishop by Mgr Gonzi on September 29, 1974. Following the death of Bishop Emmanuel Galea in August 1974, he also became Vicar General to Archbishop Gonzi.

1976 On November 29 Mgr Mercieca was nominated Metropolitan Archbishop of Malta. His enthronement took place on December 12.

1984 Mgr Mercieca led the Church in Malta during a Church-State impasse regarding the future of Church schools and State expectations regarding Church property. Negotiations took a decisive turn towards reconciliation through a fresh personal initiative of Mgr Mercieca.

1985 Church and State sign, on April 27, a preliminary agreement on the way forward regarding Church schools. The Federation of Parent-Teacher Associations of Private Schools (FPTA) thanked Mgr Mercieca for his “profound and undaunted approach throughout the negotiations”.

1990 Mgr Mercieca became the Archbishop of Malta to welcome a Pope in the Maltese islands for the first time in the nation’s history. He led the Church in Malta in greeting John Paul II during the Holy Father’s pastoral visits to the Malta between May 25 and 27.

1991 On June 11, John Paul II appointed Mgr Mercieca member of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura of the Holy See. The Signatura is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church - apart from the Pope himself, who as supreme ecclesiastical judge is the final point of appeal for any ecclesiastical judgment - entrusted with the promotion of the correct administration of justice in the Church. Sitting on the tribunal at the time of Mgr Mercieca’s appointment were five Cardinals and five other bishops. He continued to serve in the Tribunal until he reached the maximum age of 80.

1991 The Holy See and the Maltese Government ratified, on November 28, two definitive agreements on Church schools and on the transfer to the State of immovable ecclesiastical property.

1995 Mgr Mercieca was made member of the Xirka Ġieħ ir-Repubblika, the highest honour to be awarded by the Republic of Malta.

1999 On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his episcopate, Mgr Mercieca launched a four-year Diocesan Synod in which everybody had ample chance to contribute and some 100,000 people gave their views one way or the other.

2001 On May 8 and 9, Pope John Paul II visited Malta again, beatifying Fr Ġorġ Preca (later proclaimed saint by Pope Benedict XVI), Nazju Falzon and Sr Maria Adeodata Pisani SDB.

2003 On November 11, Mgr Mercieca offered his resignation to the Pope as expected by Canon Law of a diocesan bishop who reaches the age of 75.

2007 Archbishop Mercieca presided at the episcopal ordination of Archbishop Mgr Paul Cremona O.P., who succeeded him as Archbishop of Malta as from the same day from January 26.

2014 Mgr Mercieca published his memoirs.