George Preca

Saint George Preca

Saint George Preca
Second Apostle of Malta
Born (1880-02-12)12 February 1880
Valletta, Malta
Died 26 July 1962(1962-07-26) (aged 82)
Santa Venera, Malta
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church
Beatified 9 May 2001, Floriana, Malta 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 society of lay catechists. In Malta, he is known as "Dun Ġorġ". He was canonized on 3 June 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI.[1] The parish of Swatar is dedicated to him.[2]

Life

Veneration and cause for canonization

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 Preca[3] 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, Ċensu Tabone, later 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 that officially confirmed the Zammit Endrich healing. In a ceremony in Floriana, Malta on 9 May 2001, Preca was beatified by Pope John Paul II as were Nazju Falzon and Maria Adeodata Pisani.[3]

Canonization

Statue of Saint George Preca at Monte Kristo Estates, Hal Farrug, Luqa

On 23 February 2006 during the Vatican consistory, Preca was proclaimed the second Maltese Catholic saint, after Saint Publius. He was canonized in Rome on 3 June 2007 along with three other new saints.[1] 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.

Statue and relic

A statue of Preca was unveiled at St. Cajetan Parish Church of Ħamrun during a solemn Mass presided by Archbishop Paul Cremona 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. The bronze statue is the work of sculptor Gianni Bonnici and was executed in Caggiati, Parma, Italy.

Luminous Mysteries

In 2002 Pope John Paul II introduced five new mysteries of the rosary known as the Luminous Mysteries. There have been claims that Preca is the author of these mysteries. In 1957 he wrote five mysteries which he called the Mysteries of Light, which are almost identical.[4]

Sexual orientation

In 2010, a book was published by Joseph Chetcuti that made the claim that George Preca had been a (repressed) homosexual but who had nevertheless led a sexually chaste life.[5] However, some arguing for and against this suggest that the evidence presented is on "tenuous grounds" but plausible.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 "Gorg Preca is officially Malta's first Catholic Saint". MaltaStar. 2007-02-23. Archived from the original on 2007-02-27. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
  2. ↑ Unknown (22 July 2012), "Kappillan ġdid fis-Swatar", iNewsMalta.com.
  3. 1 2 "Dun Gorg Preca". Newsmakers in 2001. Malta Today. 2001-12-30. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
  4. ↑ "Probable Origin of the Mysteries of Light - Catholic Christian Article". Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  5. ↑ Joseph Chetcuti, Queer Mediterranean Memories, 2010
  6. ↑ Allied Newspapers Ltd. "Gay saints and sinners". Times of Malta. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
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