A great amount of literature has been written about the life and ecclesiastical career of the late Mgr Ġużeppi Mercieca, who was archbishop of Malta from 1976 to 2006.

Charles Buttigieg’s monumental biography of Mgr Mercieca, Ilkoll Aħwa Fi Kristu. Ġużeppi Mercieca – Memorji, published in 2014 by Klabb Kotba Maltin is the jewel in the crown among all the writings that dealt with the long life of Dun Ġużepp ‘Tal-Mewta’, as he must have been known in Gozo before he moved to Rome for his studies and eventual colourful career in the Sacra Romana Rota.

Writing of Mgr Mercieca’s Gozitan roots, it is interesting to note that his autobiography was made possible by another Gozitan, Pawlu Mizzi, who was very close to him.

Mizzi, the founder of Klabb Kotba Maltin, was born in the whereabouts of Pjazza Tomba – now known as Pjazza Santu Wistin – just a stone’s throwaway from Triq il-Providenza, the street in which Mgr Mercieca was born.

To render coincidence more alluring, after his marriage to Marija née Scicluna, Mizzi moved to Malta and settled at number 1, Archbishop’s Square and in the mid-1970s became Archbishop Mercieca’s life-long neighbour. This was a case of history repeating itself in such an unexpected manner.

Mgr Mercieca was born in the family home in Providence Street, one of the narrow winding streets that make up the old medieval town of Victoria. St George’s parish church, where he was baptised, received his First Holy Communion and also confirmed, was only a corner away from his home.

He was born on November 11, 1928, the eldest child of the family. I remember vividly how on one of my regular Sunday visits to my paternal grandfather, Baskal Attard, Mgr Mercieca became the subject of the conversation.

At one point my grandfather referred to Mgr Mercieca as his second cousin. Later on, when I was old enough to put my shyness away and was able to pose a couple of questions to my grandfather, it became clear that Mgr Mercieca’s maternal grandmother, Marinton Vassallo, was a younger sister of my grandfather’s maternal grandmother, Mariroż Gatt. Even to this day, many old families of Victoria are somehow related to each other.

Mgr Mercieca with Pope Paul VI as judge of the Sacra Romana Rota.

Mgr Mercieca came from a very religious family… two brothers of his father, Saverio, were priests. From his mother’s side, a cousin of hers was also a priest: Mgr Tarċisju Gatt, known for his dedicated service as vice-parish priest of the Cathedral.

Mgr Mercieca came from a very religious family... two brothers of his were priests

The family was one of humble roots and his father earned a living through winemaking and the running of a traditional wine shop, which still stands at the corner between Providence Street and St George’s Street in Rabat.

Mgr Mercieca went to a school run by the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Palm Street and later attended the primary school and the Minor Seminary. He frequented the Oratorju Don Bosco for catechism lessons.

Gozo Bishop Ġużeppi Pace was of the opinion that as a seminarian, Mercieca should further his studies at the Collegio Capranica in Rome, which was very close to the Pantheon.

He came back to Gozo for his ordination which took place at St James church in Victoria. Another priest ordained with him was Dun Saver Calleja, who also hailed from Victoria. The ordination took place on March 10, 1952.

Mgr Mercieca was to return to Gozo once more and strengthen his ties with the diocesan seminary. In 1959 he was recalled from Rome by Mgr Pace, who asked him to teach both the students at the secondary level and the seminarians in the major seminary.

It was during this period that Mgr Pace named Mgr Mercieca as rector of the Sacred Heart Seminary, where he served from 1958 to 1969. His successor was Fr Anton Azzopardi SJ. The Jesuits continued to run the Gozo seminary until 1997 when Bishop Nikol Cauchi appointed a diocesan priest for the office. As rector of the seminary, Mgr Mercieca was the fourth priest from Victoria to fill the post… the previous ones were Mgr Giuseppe Farrugia known as Tal-Vers, Mgr Alfons Hili, who later on became archpriest of the Cathedral and parish priest of St George’s and Mgr Antonio Vella.

Mgr Mercieca as a newly-ordained priest (third from right).

Mgr Mercieca was a promoter of Gozo and its diocese. When the superiors of the diocesan seminary in Gozo decided that it was right and just that the newly-ordained priests in Gozo would be awarded a baccalaureate in theology at the end of their studies, Mgr Mercieca was instrumental in the proceedings.

In silence and without blowing trumpets, he used his influence in Rome to affiliate the Gozo seminary with the Pontifical University of St Thomas, known as the Angelicum. This happened in 1994 and the news was greeted with jubilation.

Bishop Cauchi and Mgr Mercieca worked together in various ways and many a time they wrote together pastoral letters. The pastoral letter which addressed the issue of Malta’s accession to the EU was perhaps the most renowned.

When in 1974 Mgr Mercieca was nominated by Pope Paul VI as auxiliary bishop to Archbishop Michael Gonzi, it was more difficult for him to visit Gozo for long periods. His visits to his family became less frequent although he remained close to his two brothers, especially to his brother priest Dun Ġwann. In 1976 he became Archbishop of Malta and moved to Mdina.

I remember when as seminarians we visited him a couple of times at the Palace in Mdina. His face would radiate with an unexplainable joy every time people from Gozo would pay him a visit. We would stand in a line and, as he shook hands, he would ask us where we were from. He would know quite well a member or two of our families.

Until a couple of years ago he used to preside over the Thanksgiving Mass on the third Sunday of July at St George’s basilica on the occasion of the titular feast of St George.

Archbishop Mercieca was awarded the Ġieħ Għawdex award by the Circolo Gozitano in 2010.

Mgr Mercieca will be remembered as a humble priest with a great heart, a gentle speaker but a wise man... economic in his words but clear in his thoughts. I hope that one day Gozo will erect a monument in his memory. Mgr Mercieca was a soft-spoken priest who spoke gently and acted wisely over three decisive decades.