Had someone asked me a year ago for one or two names of persons who could be the Archbishop of Malta I would not have put the name of Mgr Paul Cremona on the list. Had someone asked me one year ago what I would expect from the Archbishop in his first year I would have said that I expected a radical change of Curial and diocesan structures and a substantial reshuffle of the persons occupying the top posts.

Mgr Cremona has since been appointed and is one year into his episcopate. I don't know whether they had a quccija party in the house at Attard where he lives with four other priests. Someone mentioned the anniversary last Saturday during the meeting of the Senate of Priests. Most, it seems, forgot all about it.

He was not on my list and he did not do the structural changes I thought and still think are needed and essential. Most of the problems that have been with us for long are still there. Moreover all the old and familiar faces are still occupying the same posts they were occupying a year ago. Only one major change and two important additions were made. He did almost nothing of what I expected him to do. So what do I think of this episcopate one year after the nomination of Mgr Cremona?

I think that Archbishop Cremona did something I did not expect him to do and which is more important that what I thought  he should do.

Ignoring management gurus

Allow me a personal anecdote before I continue my explanation. At the beginning of February a friend of mine phoned informing me that the Archbishop wanted to meet me. Consequently I picked him up one Thursday morning from the Dominican Convent at Nazzarenu. We drove off to Cirkewwa and went to Gozo to my friend's house. We spent most of the day there and the three of us discussed many different things. Around 3p.m. I drove him back to Mgarr and then off to Nazzarenu. When we were together in the car I could discuss with him more personal matters than when all three of us were together. I would have been more than happy with a 45 or 60 minute meeting. I expected no more. Why did he "waste" such a large chunk of the day on me?

Had he followed my agenda of structural changes he would surely not have had all that time on his hands. Had he asked some management consultant, he would have been instructed in the skills of time management. The management gurus would have told him that such behaviour - spending hours on one individual - is ridiculous at best and irresponsible at worst.

Let me be very clear: I am very happy that he ignored the management gurus and that he did not follow my agenda. That meeting had a profound effect on me. I treasure it more than many other experiences I have had in my life. I joyfully shout in my heart: no one has ever "wasted" so much time on me in one single day! He told me, through his actions, that I am important for him. Since he is Christ's representative in the diocese, being important for him means being important for Christ. The feeling is still electrifying.

Success not suicide

There are at least hundreds (perhaps a few thousand) who feel proud that Archbishop Cremona gave them his personal attention. They are grateful that he showed them, in his inimitable way, that he cares for them and that they are very important for him.

The families he has visited, the groups he has met, the individuals he has consoled, the associations he has met, the myriads that he has prayed for and with ..... The list is very very long.

Those who handle his diary must be driven crazy from time to time.

I attended a reception following a particular activity ... one of the very few I attended in recent months. Most of the time  the Archbishop was speaking to individuals in a very clear tu per tu fashion. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of he created a bubble of tranquillity for the person who needed his attention. He leaves the 99 and goes in search for the one. Mathematically this is a suicidal strategy from the perspective of organisational reforms, but it is an evangelical recipe for success.

Archbishop of the people

Is Mgr Cremona a perfect archbishop? He would be the first one to answer that question by one screaming disclaimer: far from it. Perhaps he is not the best person to tackle structural change but he is very good to tackle people. His smile is sincere. It is light years away from the Berlusconi-brand manufactured smile. He is neither overpowering nor overbearing. His weakness with structures is more than compensated by his strength with people. Barring the unexpected he will be Archbishop for another 14 years,  at least. For him and the Archdiocese this was a year of a warm and sweet honeymoon. A few more months would hurt nobody till a good synthesis is found between the direct needs of the people and the structural reforms needed so that more people will be better served in the long term.

But his hallmark should always be that he is the bishop of the people not of the structures.