Relative hopes people will remember Blessed Preca's life, virtues

Published: 2007-05-24

OTTAWA (CNS) -- Tony Vella, the great-nephew of Father George Preca, said he hopes the charismatic Maltese priest's life and virtues will be remembered long after his June 3 canonization. Vella called his mother's uncle, whom he knows as "Dun Gorg," a "pioneer of the lay apostolate." Vella, 64, of Kingston, Ontario, served Blessed Preca as an altar boy in his native town of Hamrun, Malta, and "used to see him pretty well every day," Vella said in a May telephone interview from Kingston. When Blessed Preca began his ministry, Malta, an island nation off the coast of Italy, was largely illiterate. Although Malta is Catholic, the faith there was mingled with superstition. As a deacon, Blessed Preca started "religious discussions" with sailors in the Grand Harbor area and began building relationships with local youths. Shortly after his 1906 ordination, Blessed Preca had what Vella described as a "very charismatic experience" that led him to spend three months alone, praying and meditating in a loft and pondering the Bible, especially the New Testament. A year later, he founded the Society of Christian Doctrine, setting up catechism centers to form faithful Christians.

Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .