Updated 12pm

Mgr Victor Grech, “an icon of love and unity” who pioneered the fight against drug abuse and devoted a lifetime to counselling and charitable work, has died aged 95.

The work of Dun Victor, as he was widely known, touched the heart of the nation which he further connected with during his radio programmes. He was a broadcaster for 50 years and became a household name with his advice programme Fejn tmur il-qalb (Where the heart goes).

He died at 9.58am on Wednesday at Mater Dei Hospital. The funeral will be organised by the state, one step short of a State funeral normally reserved for former prime ministers and presidents.  It will be held on Saturday morning, with funeral mass at St John's Co-Cathedral led by Archbishop Scicluna. Saturday has also been declared a Day of Mourning.

In a statement the Archdiocese of Malta said that, through his work, Grech changed the way Maltese society faced addiction, poverty and injustice.

Fr Victor Grech hugs a young man after completing a drug rehabilitation programme.

Tributes to work with vulnerable

As news of his death spread many paid tribute to him. Bishop Charles Scicluna wrote: “The Church in Malta mourns the death of Mons Victor Grech, a priest and benefactor of our nation who selflessly dedicated himself to Caritas Malta and forged its mission and its vision for decades. May he rest in peace!"

Prime Minister Robert Abela paid tribute to a "gentleman" who stood for the most vulnerable people in society. "My experience with him at Caritas taught me that everyone deserves another chance in life and everyone's duty is to offer a shoulder to those who are going through a difficult period," he said.

Opposition leader Bernard Grech said he had "dedicated his life to being a shield of love and hope for the most vulnerable among us".

President Myriam Spiteri Debono said the country should "be grateful to him and continue to recognize his work" while European Parliament president Roberta Metsola described him as an icon of love, unity and inspiration to all the Maltese and Gozitans”.

On Facebook Caritas wrote: “Thank you Dun Victor for all the love you sowed in our hearts for those who are suffering and vulnerable.” 

Dun Victor campaigned strongly against poverty and social and criminal issues such as usury, and made Caritas the most respected voice when cost of living issues were discussed. 

“Every human being has the dignity of the child of God. No human life is destined to end on a rubbish dump or to be deprived of a decent living,” Grech once wrote about his experience with Caritas Malta which he described as “a big adventure that demanded courage and life-long commitment.” 

Battling drug pushers

Grech was involved in Caritas since its inception in Malta in 1977 and stepped down after 37 years in 2014, although he remained involved and continued to hold counselling.

Mgr Victor Grech celebrating Mass: Photo Caritas

In an interview with Times of Malta in 2021 he spoke about the challenges of setting up Caritas and how he received death threats from drug pushers who demanded that he stopped talking publicly about the bad impact of drugs on young people. In that interview he also spoke about today’s challenges saying: “today we’re noticing there is greater demand from younger people… We’re seeing children as young as 11 and 12 starting to take hard drugs. That wasn’t the case in the 1970s.”

His demise robs the local church of the last of a cadre of priests who built national institutions which survived them.

They included Dun (St) George Preca who set up the MUSEUM society, Dun Mikiel Azzopardi who set up Dar tal-Providenza, Mgr Charles Vella who set up the Cana Movement and Mgr Philip Calleja, who set up Dar l-Emigrant and the church’s migrant services.

Immediately before them was Mgr Joseph DePiro  who set up the Missionary Society of St Paul which runs a home for boys and a college, among other institutions.

Fr Victor Grech meets Pope Francis.

Such was Grech’s appeal that even in his eighties, he drew hundreds of young people for his Lenten sermons. Always outwardly calm, the soft-spoken priest drew criticism from politicians when he raised the alarm about drug abuse growing in Malta, then faced threats by drug pushers, and refused police protection when it was offered to him. 

He went to several countries to see how they tackled the drug problem, then set up a network of professionally trained counsellors followed by residential therapeutic rehabilitation centres, of which the one at San Blas is the biggest.

Early life

Grech was born in Cospicua in 1929. He was ordained a priest in 1956 but he used to say that he felt his calling when still aged seven. And he immediately set the ‘house on fire.’ Literally.

While playing at celebrating mass as a boy, he lit a candle which later set a curtain ablaze, with the fire spreading to a door before his parents realized what was happening and a disaster was averted.

A young Victor Grech celebrating Mass. Photo: Caritas

Soon after his ordination he was appointed deputy rector of the Archbishop’s Seminary until 1962. He served as rector until 1977. In 1977 he was appointed Archbishop’s delegate in the Social and Charity Secretariat as well as director of Caritas Malta – both posts he retained until he retired in 2014. 

Throughout the years he promoted drug and alcohol abuse prevention programmes in schools amongst students and parents, along with his radio broadcasts.

Near the end of his life he said his regrets were that the Maltese people were increasingly less compassionate and did not look out for each other as much as they used to.

And he was also concerned about environmental degradation. In 1993 he was nominated member of the National order of Merit. In 2012 he was awarded the European Citizens’ Prize for his contribution to Maltese society and in 2021 he was awarded Ġieħ iż-Żejtun for his role in helping young people fighting their addictions. That same year he was also awarded the Active Aging Award.

His brother Joe Grech, Malta's first singer at the Eurovision Song Contest, died aged 90 in December.