Victor Axiak writes:

It must have been over 10 years ago, when I was discussing with some friends the need for the local Church to become more active in the field of environmental matters. We were referring to the disturbing fact that most priests simply failed to make the direct connection between respect towards the environment and love of God.

But then someone interjected: “ You know, there is a young and energetic priest who probably for the first time wrote his Seminary thesis on just such a topic”. The crowd quickly got intrigued and we soon came to know his name: Fr Eric Overend.

Since then, I had come to know this young and energetic priest almost as much as I would know a brother. Since 2003, he was a member of the Kummissjoni Ambjent (KA), more so... an active member and one of its deputy-chairmen.

Almost all of our meetings used to be held in his residence at Żejtun, where he used to greet each one of us with his infectious smile, while making sure that throughout the meeting we would be served with coffee (which he would serve himself) and ‘qagħaq ta’ Barbetta’ .

As a member of KA, he was quick to come up with ideas, and more so... he would offer himself to see them through. One of the last of his initiatives was the production of 50,000 small cardboard cubes in the form of playing dice, given to five to 10-year-old schoolchildren.

Each of the six faces of such a dice carried a simple message relating love of God to practical advice on how to conserve water, paper, food and electricity. This was such a simple small toy carrying such a big message to future generations.

We have indications that such a dice proved to be tremendously popular with children in our schools. That was Fr Eric’s way of doing things. He had a knack for passing on a hugely important message in a simple, no-nonsense way, almost verging on the naive, until you realise that behind the simplicity of it all, lies a big heart earning to improve things.

Only last summer, he had come up with the idea that the KA should commission a water conservation audit in a number of Church premises. Such water audits have now been carried out by Marco Cremona in nine premises, including the Seminary and a number of major residences.

The aim was to ensure that the Church would put into practice what was taught about using our environmental resources with care and diligence, since they are made available by God’s grace. That was Fr Eric for you – quick to preach and quicker to act.

He was fully aware that though it should be self-evident to one and all that our environmental obligations should naturally arise from our belief in a Creator, this basic truth has not yet (especially way back in 2003-2004) sunk in the mental fabric of the local Church.

So he was a forerunner in introducing environmental considerations in the local Liturgy. He was probably the first priest to celebrate Mass with its Liturgy centred on environmental obligations and faith. And he kept doing so every year, on October 4, which is the feast of St Francis and which has now been officially established in the Archdiocese Calendar as Creation Day (Jum il-Ħolqien).

Fr Eric, myself and all my friends of KA will miss you dearly. We are now still under the shock of your premature departure, but in time, when we recover, we may find the right words and the most appropriate ways of commemorating your life, driven by a passion for God and all His Creation.