On September 16, 1864 – 158 years ago – Blessed Pope Pius IX brought to a happy end a 66-year long attempt by the people of Gozo to establish their island into a diocese on its own.

The first petition pinpointing the necessity of a separate diocese was dispatched by Archpriest Saverio Cassar immediately after the islands were freed from the French. But this and further petitions fell on deaf ears or were shelved for years.

In 1855, Don Pietro Pace, a priest from Victoria resident in Rome, and Adrian Dingli, whose roots hailed from Gozo and who had just been appointed Crown Advocate for Malta, decided to take matters in their hand and slowly, but surely, they succeeded in overcoming all difficulties that cropped up from various quarters.

At long last, Pope Pius IX conceded to the Gozitan request and through the bull Singulari Amore – With Remarkable Love – he established Gozo and Comino as a separate diocese from Malta with its own bishop.

One of the great advantages of this establishment was the opening of a seminary together with a secondary school, a great blessing for Gozo at the time and an institution that is still going strong.

Since then the diocese of Gozo has been led by nine bishops.

Mgr Anton Teuma, the ninth bishop of Gozo, chose this special day to make his solemn entry into the cathedral two years ago.

Tomorrow, the 158th anniversary, the bells of the cathedral will be rung at noon. It was the wish of Bishop Nikol Cauchi to remember this anniversary as a day of thanksgiving.