An autographed photo of Maurus Caruana.

Exactly 100 years have elapsed since the episcopal ordination of Archbishop-Bishop Dom Maurus Caruana OSB. This previously little-known Benedictine monk, from the Monastery of Fort Augustus in Scotland, was consecrated bishop at the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome on February 10, 1915.

Aloysius (Luigi) Charles Caruana was born in Floriana on November 16, 1867, the youngest of the three children of Henry Caruana and Elizabeth Bonavia, who died when he was only 14 months old. Aloysius received his education at the Gozo Seminary, and later at St Ignatius College, in St Julian’s. He joined the Benedictine Order at Fort Augustus on March 21, 1884, receiving the Benedictine habit exactly six months later from the prior of the abbey, Dom Jerome Vaughan. He was given the religious name of Maurus, a Benedictine saint.

The young Caruana made his simple profession on November 11, 1885, and his solemn profession on November 13, 1888, in the presence of the abbot, Dom Leo Linse. Caruana was ordained priest in the abbey of Fort Augustus on March 14, 1891, by the Bishop of Aberdeen, Hugh MacDonald CSSR.

After further studies in Rome, Caruana returned to Scotland where he taught philosophy, theology and Latin literature at the abbey. He was later appointed rector of the clerics, and counsellor and secretary of the monastery chapter. It is known that he even learnt the Gaelic language. He was also pastor of the parish at Fort Augustus from 1901 to 1905, and again from 1912 to 1914.

The Brazil-bound monk received a telegram from Rome. He was instructed: ‘Do not move.’

Caruana was active in the preaching ministry among Catholics in Scotland. He was often asked to preach to Italian emigrants in Glasgow and Edinburgh. For a brief period of under two years he served as secretary to Archbishop Ambrose Agius OSB, a fellow Maltese Benedictine, who was apostolic delegate in the Philippines. Returning to his community at Fort Augustus, Caruana was appointed abbey choirmaster in 1912. Under his direction, the rendering of plain chant in the abbey reached higher standards. Moreover, he was also asked to teach plain chant in various Catholic parishes in Scotland.

Some years later, Caruana was entrusted with the foundation of a new Benedictine monastery in Brazil. In fact, it was during a brief visit to Malta to see his relatives, that the Brazil-bound monk received a telegram from Rome. He was instructed: “Do not move.” Subsequently, another telegram ordered him: “Proceed to Rome.”

The surprised Caruana, then 47 years old, was told that he had been appointed bishop of Malta. The official announcement was made on January 22, 1915, the feast of St Publius.

Caruana was consecrated bishop on February 10, 1915, by Cardinal Raphael Merry del Val (1865-1930), who had been papal Secretary of State until a few months earlier. The congregation in the Roman basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere included Bishop Caruana’s father, Sir Henry Howard (the British Minister to the Holy See), Dom Azimari (representing the Abbot of Monte Cassino), as well as many bishops and superiors of religious orders in Rome. Following the liturgical celebration, a reception was held in Palazzo San Callisto, a stone’s throw away from the basilica.

Some days later, the newly-ordained Maltese bishop was received in audience by Pope Benedict XV who gifted him with a pectoral cross. Caruana arrived in Malta aboard the Apollonia on February 25 and was greeted by festive crowds. The Daily Malta Chronicle of the following day describes in great detail his arrival. Caruana’s first pastoral letter bears the date of his arrival. Addressing the faithful, he writes: “When lately I was paying you a short visit before sailing, as I thought, for Brazil, I did not for a moment suppose that I should in fact abandon my journey and take up permanent residence in your midst as your bishop. But just as it was a keen delight to revisit my country, my relatives, and my friends after so long an absence, so now you will understand that it is a bitter pain to leave the monastic home to which the most sacred ties unite me, and to abandon the regular life of the cloister, the sweet yoke of the Benedictine Rule, that it has been my privilege to bear from my youth.”

A new chapter in his life was about to commence. It would be a long and eventful one for him and for Malta.

Rev. Prof. Hector Scerri is head of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Malta.