Prelate Distinguished in Doctrine and Piety

Luigi Fernandez was born to Don Francesco and Theresa née Gatt. Unfortunately very little is known of the early years of his life, however, having been born in the freshly shifted political dynamic of Malta which was still finding itself under the new British rule, proved formative to the role he was destined to occupy. The second eldest of his six siblings, he was ordained priest on the 8 April 1827, and obtained a doctorate of Laws and Theology from the UM.

Fernandez was elected by Bishop Francesco Saverio Caruana to serve as parish priest of Żabbar and was given possession of the parish on 4th September 1835. He occupied this role for fourteen years up until 1848. His service towards the Church and the parish is commemorated by the painting of his coat of arms in the same parish church of Our Lady of Graces, together with those of the other past parish priests. During his time as parish priest of Żabbar, in the year 1838, he was appointed by the Commissioners of Inquiry, composed of Sir George Cornwall Lewis and John Austin, to draw up an account on the affairs concerning the education of young persons studying to obtain the Holy Orders in the seminary of the Bishop of Malta. In his report, he gave an intricate account of the history of the seminary, detailing its genesis under Monsignor Dusina; its becoming a reality under Bishop Fra Davide Cocco Palmeri; and its continued progressive growth under the direction and immeasurable dedication of the successive Bishops of Malta.

In December 1838, Fernandez was appointed as a member of the Special Council for the Faculty of Theology which included Canon Emmanuel Rossignaud, Rector of the University; Archpriest Joseph Galea, Canon Peter Paul Psaila, and the Rev. Saviour Cumbo. As member of this Special Council, Mons. Fernandez was primarily tasked, together with other members of the council, with the general running of the Faculty of Theology which included the formulation of a programme of studies and the conduct of examinations. Records suggest that Mons. Fernandez retained occupation of the position of examiner on the Special Council of the Faculty of Theology up until as far as the year 1860.

In February 1848, Fernandez was nominated coadjutor canon of the Cathedral of Malta to the Rev. Canon Dr Venceslao Debono. He later served as Dean of the Cathedral Chapter of Malta and as the administrator of the archives of the Cathedral from 1848 until 1850 and again from 1852 until 1854. Mgr Fernandez also played a fundamental role in the establishment of the Diocese of Gozo and Comino in 1864, having been tasked by the Blessed Pope Pius IX to execute the Papal Bull Singulari Amore. By means of this instrument, on 16 September 1864, with great delight to the island of Gozo, the Diocese of Gozo was dismembered from that of Malta.

Mgr Fernandez together with his older brother Giovanni, contested the elections of 1849 for the new Council of Goverment, this being our first account of Fernandez’s first active involvement in politics. He obtained 303 votes and, despite this being a respectable number in view of the restricted number of voters, he was not elected. His continued interest in politics and will to further serve his country and the Maltese people is evident in him contesting the 1870 general elections and successfully being elected on 23 June 1870 with 498 votes. He was sworn in on 25 June 1870, but only occupied this position for just over a year.

Due to his poor health, Fernandez resigned from his position in the Council of Government and on 20 January 1872. He died a year later in Valletta. The newspaper Corriere Mercantile Maltese reported his death describing him as ‘learned, good, exemplary’ reporting further that he left his ‘beautiful memory in the souls of his fellow citizens’.

This biography is part of the collection created by Michael Schiavone over a 30-year period. Read more about Schiavone and his initiative here.