Church appointment

The conference of Maltese Bishops has appointed Mgr Joseph Farrugia president of the Church in Malta and in Europe Commission.

Mgr Farrugia has also been chosen by Gozo Bishop Mario Grech to be responsible for culture in the diocese of Gozo.

Born in Victoria in 1954, Mgr Farrugia was the archpriest of the Basilica of St George. He was ordained in 1978, following which he continued his studies in Rome, where he gained a doctorate in theology, becoming a lecturer in the subject in Gozo in 1983 and at the university in 1988, where he also taught ecumenism.

Mgr Farrugia was the first teacher to give lectures in Gozo when the University introduced its Gozo centre. In 1995, he started coordinating a series of public lectures on Gozo's history and culture and is the author of various works on theology in international publications.

Mgr Farrugia was the co-founder of the Laudate Pueri choir and the Fondazzjoni Belt Vittoria, as well as the parish priest of the Victoria Scouts Group.