The archpriest of Żejtun, Fr Eric Overend, died suddenly yesterday, aged 47.
He loved the church and his parishioners, was a loyal friend and helped all
He was admitted to hospital in the morning, just two days after his mother, Carmen Abela, known as Lilly, passed away aged 80.
Her funeral, planned for today, has been postponed so that the family can hold one funeral for both.
Fr Overend had lost his father and sister before he joined the Archbishop’s Seminary to commence his studies to become a priest.
The news of his death shocked the Żejtun community, which, only last November, lost another of its spiritual directors, vice archpriest Renè Cilia, 27, who died in a traffic accident on his way to celebrate the 7am Sunday Mass.
Fr Overend had broken the news about the young priest’s death to people who gathered for Sunday Mass.
Fr Overend was a member of the Church’s Environment Commission and president of the College of Parish Priests until last year.
Fr Gordon Refalo, his successor at the College of Parish Priests, was a close friend of Fr Overend. He remembers the archpriest as an “altruistic and incredibly energetic man”.
“Eric was a man who never stopped, always on the go. I don’t know anyone like him. There’s no curfew or holiday for him. He was a man of God. He loved the church and his parishioners. He was a loyal friend and helped anyone anytime.”
Born in Sliema on March 28, 1966, Fr Overend was ordained priest in July 1994. Before becoming archpriest of Żejtun some 10 years ago, he was parish priest at the fishermen’s hamlet of Marsaxlokk. He still celebrated the 3am Mass at the fish market in Valletta every first Friday of the month.