I cannot agree more with correspondents John Consiglio and Colette Mallia in their letters (October 26) in praise of Mgr Victor Grech. I feel that this holy and wise priest possesses exceptional qualities.

After counselling countless youngsters in his early years as a priest, he felt the need to found the Catholic organisation Caritas some 30 years ago. This has contributed a massive dose of spiritual, psychological and medical help to Malta’s drug addicts, with the rehabilitation centre at San Blas outside Żebbuġ.

Mgr Grech is an exceptionally devout priest, whose Mass is always calm without being drowsy, always clear and unhurried. His short sermons at his daily Masses are wise, profound, humble and powerful.

The deepest prayer of his Mass is immediately after Holy Communion, with a prolonged and profound silence lasting about three minutes.

I have not experienced this anywhere else, and it helps one to realise that holy ideas are born in silence.

Mgr Grech faithfully follows St Benedict’s maxim Ora et labora, meaning “pray and work”, and this has undoubtedly been his life’s constant practice.

As a monsignor he is a regular co-celebrant at the Latin sung Mass at St John’s Co-Cathedral on Sunday mornings, and has a keen appreciation of beautiful sung and organ church music.

He is a well travelled and well informed person, whose counselling is always gentle but clear; a true servant of God who is beyond praise and a most worthy contributor to Maltese society, like “Fra Diego, Mgr Joseph De Piro, Mgr Michael Azzopardi and so many others”, as the above-mentioned correspondents well wrote.

Such a person is rare in any society and needs to be acknowledged during his lifetime, as Ms Mallia appropriately observed.