Fr Geoffrey G. Attard writes:
As the Maltese people were finding their ways to the voting polls, a beloved priest from Victoria passed away peacefully into eternal bliss. Mgr Ġwann Mercieca, known by the Gozitans simply as Dun Ġwann tal-Mewta, came from a family of three brothers, the eldest one being the late Archbishop Mgr Ġużeppi Mercieca.
Born in 1932, Mgr Mercieca was ordained in January 1957 at the Collegio Capranica, a stone’s throw away from the famous Pantheon at the very heart of Rome. This year he was commemorating the 60th anniversary of his ordination.
Dun Ġwann was a much sought after confessor and gave instruction in religious education in schools in Gozo. He was a down-to-earth priest, always faithful to the teaching of the Church and at the same time easy to talk to.
Being my paternal grandfather’s cousin, I had many a conversation with him over the years, and the subject of our common ancestry would always prevail at the end of our dialogues. His regular appointments with the Blessed Sacrament at the Church of Perpetual Adoration, known as Savina, were common knowledge. Laid-back and humble in many ways, Dun Ġwann will be sorely missed by one and all.
Dun Ġwann bore his illness with patience and courage. He was truly a man of God. May God grant him eternal rest.