During these past weeks Fr Peter Serracino Inglott’s extraordinary intelligence and socio-political commitment have been widely acclaimed, so I will not dwell upon them. Instead I would like to share that part of his life which people who have not worked with him might not be aware of.
Fr Peter worked punctuated by telephone calls and visits from people of all social standing asking him for help or advice – to which he would invariably oblige- Miriam Vincenti
Right up till illness prevented him, Fr Peter was an extremely industrious man who worked long hard hours. Given not only his own work on issues in which he wanted to give a contribution to Maltese society – issues ranging from the encouragement of sacred art, to bioethics, to cultivation of the open-source concept – but also that he never said no to anyone who asked of him a paper, a speech, a lecture, a book review and so on. Fr Peter was always extremely busy.
The most remarkable thing, however, was the manner in which he worked. He worked punctuated by telephone calls and visits from people of all social standing asking him for help or advice – to which he would invariably oblige.
I had the privilege of working with Fr Peter and helping him in his work. Many times we would be working on a deadline, often on several at the same time, and I would be on tenterhooks as once again the telephone would ring and we would stop.
I still cherish his gift of a copy of a published text he had written, inscribed with the following: “For Miriam, who had to work at double speed to finish the text with a few seconds to spare before delivery.”
These frequent interruptions were a consequence not only of Fr Peter’s immense approachability, but more than that, of the very way he chose to live his life.
Given his talents, one could have expected Fr Peter to devote himself mainly, if not exclusively, to the role of academic philosopher or of social critic. But that was not Fr Peter.
A friend of mine, one of his former students, recollects him approvingly quoting Terence: “I am a man, and whatever concerns humanity is of interest to me.” Now it came natural for Fr Peter to put men, and not only Man, at the centre of his attention.
He never complained about these interruptions, being genuinely interested in people’s concerns and projects. Fr Peter enthusiastically encouraged and supported a great number of people. He had a particular affinity to the marginalised, especially with irregular immigrants. He would go gladly go out of his way to help the latter become socially accepted or to further their studies.
I was present many a time when one would come to thank him after successfully concluding his studies and to inform him that he would be furthering his studies abroad or that he would be leaving Malta to settle down elsewhere.
Fr Peter was many things but he was first and foremost a priest. Everything he did was an expression of his vocation. This was true even in the case of his involvement in the public sphere.
When asked to give his opinion on topical issues, he would always ask himself: “What would Christ have done in these circumstances?”
His answer would sometimes sound controversial and was often misunderstood because it seemed to be different from the usual answer couched in the usual language.
Fr Peter loved the Church and respected the Church authorities. He was often consulted locally and abroad, and among other things he contributed immensely with his talks and seminars particularly to his fellow priests in their yearly Aġġornament tal-Kleru.
I also had the privilege of seeing Fr Peter’s spiritual side. I could touch his spirituality in personal counsel, where it expressed itself in love for the simple and the essential.
It was also visible in homilies and in more intellectual writings – in those on St Paul whom he (a staunch parishioner of St Paul’s parish in Valletta) loved so much, in introductions to books and inaugural speeches at exhibitions such as the Via Crucis paintings by Austin Camilleri or in the launch of Dija, a collection of poems by Fr Gioele.
I will never forget the first time I went to help him when he began working on the spiritual reflections on the paintings of Caravaggio. The list goes on and on.
I consider myself lucky to have worked so closely with Fr Peter for these past four-and-a-half years. I will always treasure these beautiful memories. I have lost a sincere friend and mentor – a man who joyously loved life and men, a humble intellectual, a priest and follower of Jesus Christ.