[attach id=366902 size="medium" align="left"]Archbishop Emeritus Giuseppe Mercieca.[/attach]

‘Friendly’ letters Dom Mintoff sent Archbishop Emeritus Giuseppe Mercieca in the late 1980s and the 1990s are expected to be included in the memoirs of the man who headed the Church in Malta for 30 years.

“A new chapter was opened and relations between the two were very serene once the stormy seas had calmed down,” Charles Buttigieg, who assisted Mgr Mercieca in writing his memoirs, said.

Mr Buttigieg is the former head of public and media relations at the Curia.

The book will be launched on September 27, two days before Mgr Mercieca marks the 40th anniversary since he was ordained bishop.

Mgr Mercieca, who was born in Victoria on November 11, 1928, and was ordained priest on March 8, 1952, became auxiliary bishop of Malta on July 27, 1974. He took over the helm of the Maltese Archdiocese on December 12, 1976, retiring on January 26, 2007. He had succeeded the controversial Mgr Michael Gonzi, who had presided over a turbulent period in Church-Malta Labour Party relations.

Relations between the two were very serene once the stormy seas had calmed down

Little did Mgr Mercieca realise he too would have to lead the Maltese Archdiocese through testing times, especially when the Church schools issue erupted after Mr Mintoff’s government insisted they should be free for all.

The former archbishop was often Mr Mintoff’s main target during Labour Party mass meetings when he used to address him as “Mr Mercieca”.

But it seems things got much better between the two over the years, especially when the schools dispute was resolved.

Mgr Mercieca has always been a man of few words, so his memoirs are expected to arouse interest.

The book is expected to trace Mgr Mercieca’s life before he was appointed archbishop, shed fresh light on his particular style of leadership during Church-State tension in the 1980s and expound on his pastoral objectives as head of the Church in Malta.