The European bishops have paid tribute to the late former Gozo bishop Nikol Cauchi, describing him as a man who led by example.

In a letter to Gozo Bishop Mario Grech, COMECE general secretary Mgr Piotr Mazurkiewicz said Mgr Cauchi’s legacy to the Maltese Church will be indelible.

“He had showed an abiding love for the small diocese of Gozo; he had lived up to the promise he made in his farewell message in January 2006, ‘I promise to keep thinking of you and praying for you until the day I die.

“While trying to keep a very low profile, Bishop Cauchi has indeed led by example; he has fought the good fight to the end; he ran the race to the finish; he has kept the faith.

“His humility, so much in evidence in his constant request for forgiveness of his ‘many failings’, which are obviously part and parcel of being human, should be emulated,” Mgr Mazurkiewicz said.