Brother Henry Grech, FSC, was a very simple man, humble in his ways, and the very last thing anybody could call him was sophisticated. Yet he was a man of integrity, an uncompromising religious, a dedicated teacher, a devoted community man and a real scholar who fell in love with the Maltese language in his youth, a romance which lasted all his lifetime.

He was born Emmanuel Grech in Sliema on December 18, 1919, the eldest of five siblings. His parents, Felix and Grace, made sure that from an early age he attained a solid academic and Christian formation, first at home, and then at the local State school, and later (1930-31) at Stella Maris College, Sliema.

At the latter school, under the beneficent influence of the ‘sons’ of St John Baptist De La Salle, Emmanuel felt the urge to join their ranks. In this endeavour he was greatly helped by Brother Walter Joseph Borg Coster, FSC.

In August 1934, young Emmanuel, thrilled by the prospect of going abroad but realising at the same time the sacrifice his parents were making, embarked on the passenger ship Knight of Malta for Syracuse whence he proceeded to Albano Laziale, where the juniorate of the Roman province of the Brothers was located.

Endowed with a tremendous sense of adaptation, he settled down without undue difficulty in his new and somewhat strange environment. In a life of programmed activity consisting mainly of prayer, study, sports and manual work, he found the necessary safeguard against discouragement and similar temptations.

At the close of his stay in Italy, Emmanuel moved on to the Brothers’ institute in Belgium. He made his novitiate at Halle and, on taking the habit on September 14, 1937, he received the name of Brother Edward Henry. Since another Maltese Brother was called Edward, he became known henceforth as Brother Henry.

In October 1938, Brother Henry arrived at the Castlemount Scholasticate, Dover, Kent. It was there, in the training college for the English Brothers, that he strove hard to acquire basic spiritual convictions whilst strengthening his bonds with the institute. In 1939, he also achieved the Senior Oxford Certificate.

Meanwhile, the rumbles of war were being heard all over Europe. In December 1939, Brother Henry bade farewell to his Dover friends and returned to Malta. During his long absence from Malta, his father had died in his early 40s. So it was sensible for his superiors to allow him to be attached to Stella Maris College, now in Gżira, to be closer to his home than he would have been at De La Salle College.

Malta, as well as its Brothers and youngsters, were to benefit considerably from this providential change in the superior’s plans

In 1940, Bro Henry was asked whether he wished to spend a few years teaching in North Africa where other Maltese Brothers were already stationed in Tunis, Algiers and Meknes (Morocco).

Brother Henry would certainly have accepted the offer had not his widowed mother asked that her son be allowed to remain in Malta, at least for the time being.

Malta, as well as its Brothers and youngsters, were to benefit considerably from this providential change in the superior’s plans for, in this fortuitous way, he initiated his almost uninterrupted connection of 38 years at De La Salle College, Vittoriosa.

Quite legitimately, Brother Henry had a very soft spot for De La Salle and all it stood for. He attested to the college’s growth over the years, had his full share in its trials and joys, noticed its success when the Dockyard Apprentices Examination results made it famous all over the island, experienced the community’s anguish when, following the closure of the Dockyard section, its school population dwindled, and then rejoiced when, with the setting up of a Boarding Section, it picked up again and went on from success to success.

In 1956, he was appointed sub-director at De La Salle and at the juniorate in 1968. In religious life, Brother Henry found the happiness that derives from frequent communing with God and the unstinted service of others. He knew the many advantages of teamwork and in his community, he could always be counted on to back authority and contribute generously to the common effort. Truly, he lived the religious commitment in its entirety.

As a keen sportsman, he used to play football and volleyball. For many years he led the house of Verdala, his beloved Greens, from victory to more resounding victory on the college’s football pitch. He also considered it his life mission to turn the arid Cottonera area into a miniature oasis with decorative trees and flower beds on what was fallow land.

As was common in those days, he taught almost all the subjects on the curriculum as the need arose. Some he knew quite well, others less well: he did it out of obedience. Indeed, Brother Henry was an immediate success in the primary and secondary classes entrusted to him.

At a time when visual aids were rare, Brother Henry made his own. His ‘magic box’ was his constant companion during French and Italian lessons. From the very depths of his large cardboard box, he drew a vast assortment of items he carefully selected when preparing his lesson: utensils, vegetables, fruit, household articles, and so forth. He could not have imagined a more original way to enlarge the students’ vocabulary and make his teaching pleasant and efficacious.

One must add, however, that the traditional methods based on memory work, repetition, frequent testing, dictation, use of the blackboard, and regular written home assignments, followed by careful correction by teacher and student, were also popular with Brother Henry.

His lessons, besides being original, practical, carefully prepared and skilfully imparted, were invariably impregnated with an unobtrusive but very real Christian spirit. Indeed, he showed the Brother as he really is... a teacher-educator.

Brother Henry’s pet subject was Maltese: the language, its origins, grammar, idioms, proverbs and its literature. Anything Maltese was very close to his heart.

Brother Henry was very well known in circles where Maltese language and literature were appreciated and discussed. The numerous publications, issued from his prolific pen, on the Maltese language for schools, made his name famous throughout the entire island. Only his personal modesty prevented him from becoming an outstanding man of letters before the public.

Every local hymn book carries his hymns – sometimes original ones, and very often translations from Latin, English or French in his inimitable style. Spurred on by the liturgical impetus given by Vatican Council II, Brother Henry began to write a large variety of entry hymns, offertories and Communion hymns for various seasons of the liturgical year, set to music by Fr Carmelo Scerri.

He really was a man who served the Church with his talents and was a religious in the finest and widest sense of the word. Brother Henry went about his literary work in Maltese with dedication and tenacity and he sought advice and got it, together with lots of encouragement, from no less a person than Malta’s national poet, Mgr Karm Psaila.

Brother Henry’s pet subject was Maltese: the language, its origins, grammar, idioms, proverbs and its literature

The list of his publications is a very imposing one indeed: he was a poet, grammarian, philologist and essayist. Writing was his supreme delight.

His magnum opus was his last: Jean Baptiste De La Salle: Fundatur tal-Freres. It left the printing press three days before his death, and by the looks of it, St John Baptist de la Salle was so pleased with his own biography that he wanted its author to present it to him in person. Indeed, it was a fitting crown to his labours for the language and a measure of his love for the Institute.

Since 1970, when he suffered his first serious heart attack, Brother Henry was more often confined to his room and needed to undergo regular medical check-ups. He resented these limitations to his normal activities, but he also realised that a temporary rest would eventually make it possible for him to resume his daily routine.

Nevertheless, he did not complain or feel sad for himself. In his suffering, he was an apostle who bore his cross with patience and resignation and edified all by his trust in Providence and with his infectious optimism. Sadly, the end came very quickly.

During the early hours of June 10, 1981, Brother Henry was found bathed in cold sweat and battling against intense pain. Since the Brothers’ residence did not have a proper sick bay, it was decided to send him to St Luke’s Hospital, Pietà, for intensive care. By the time of arrival, he was unconscious. The doctors who examined him advised that his condition was beyond all hope. Brother Henry passed away that same morning.

Brother Henry’s funeral on June 11 in the college gym was a very festive occasion. Gathered around his coffin were the Brothers of Malta, the staff, the students and a host of Old Lasallians and friends who called to pay their last respects to a fervent son of St John Baptist De La Salle.

After the ceremony, the funeral cortège passed between rows of silent and respectful boys who eloquently paid homage to the humble Brother of the Christian Schools, as he was carried in his coffin on the way to the hearse.  In the college entrance, the Old Lasallians Association had already erected a monument that commemorates Brother Henry’s attachment to the college and his love of the Maltese language. On a black marble shelf stands the life-size bronze bust of Brother Henry, with his usual smile, his rabat askew and his spectacles perched on the tip of his nose.

The bust was unveiled on July 10, 1974, by the Rev. Brother Jose Pablo Basterrechea, then Vicar General, and later Superior General of the De La Salle Brothers.

In recognition of his vast contribution to Maltese culture, Brother Henry was made a Member of the Maltese Academy on April 28, 1972, and posthumously a Knight of Grace of the Sovereign Order of Jerusalem (OSJ) on October 17, 1981.

Brother Henry, the whole Lasallian family in Malta – Brothers, students, parents, friends and relatives – salutes you today on the centenary of your birth.