| Saint George Preca | |
|---|---|
Saint George Preca |
|
| Second Apostle of Malta | |
| Born | 12 February 1880 Valletta, Malta |
| Died | 26 July 1962 (aged 82) Santa Venera, Malta |
| Honored in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 9 May 2001, Floriana, Malta[1] by Pope John Paul II |
| Canonized | 3 June 2007, Vatican City by Pope Benedict XVI |
| Feast | 9 May |
| Patronage | Malta, Society of Christian Doctrine |
George Preca (in Maltese: Ġorġ Preca) (12 February 1880 - 26 July 1962) was a Maltese Roman Catholic priest who founded the Society of Christian Doctrine,[a] a society of lay catechists. In Malta, he is affectionately known as "Dun Ġorġ" and is popularly referred to as the "Second Apostle of Malta", after Saint Paul of Tarsus. The writer Joseph Carmel Chetcuti has claimed that George Preca was a repressed homosexual, who nevertheless led a chaste life[2]. He was canonized on 3 June 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI.[3]
Contents |
Father Ġorġ Preca first came to the attention of the Ordinary Congregation of the Cardinals and Bishops of the Congregation for Causes of Saints, which examined the scientifically unexplainable healing of Charles Zammit Endrich in 1964. Zammit Endrich had suffered from a detached retina of the left eye. The healing was declared as miraculous, and was attributed to the intercession of the Father Ġorġ Preca[1] after Zammit Endrich prayed to him and placed one of the priest's belongings under his pillow. The healing took place outside of a hospital, overseen by the personal doctor of Zammit Endrich, Dr. Ċensu Tabone who was later to be appointed President of Malta.
On 24 June 1975, Archbishop Mikiel Gonzi issued a decree initiating the process of Preca's canonization. He was declared "venerable" on 28 June 1999, and on 27 January 2000, Pope John Paul II signed the decree which officially confirmed the Zammit Endrich healing.
In a ceremony in Floriana, Malta on 9 May 2001, Father Preca was beatified by Pope John Paul II with Nazju Falzon and Maria Adeodata Pisani.[1]
On 23 February 2006 during the Vatican consistory, Father George Preca was proclaimed the first Maltese Catholic saint. He was canonized in Rome on 3 June 2007 along with three other new saints.[3] In his homily, Pope Benedict XVI called Saint George Preca "a friend of Jesus", and at the end of the celebration, he spoke in Maltese, saying the newly declared saint is the second father in faith of the Maltese and Gozitan people.
A statue of St George Preca was unveiled at St Cajetan Parish Church of Ħamrun during a solemn Mass presided by H. E. Msgr Paul Cremona, Archbishop of Malta, on Thursday 17 December 2009. The statue was placed on the same spot where St George spent hours hearing confession. By the statue there is also his relic with a sample of his blood. Many are those who come to Saint Cajetan's Parish to ask for his intercession and make their prayers in front of his relic. The bronze statue is the work of sculptor Gianni Bonnici and was executed in Caggiati, Parma, Italy.