Cardinal Prospero Grech has been remembered as a wise but humble man, who loved his calling as a servant of Christ.

Friends and mourners gathered at his final farewell in Mdina on Thursday also heard about his passion for photography and his beloved Lambretta scooter.

Cardinal Grech, the second cardinal in Maltese history, died on December 30, aged 94. 

Mass was held on Thursday afternoon at St Paul’s Cathedral in Mdina, where a host of clergy, led by Archbishop Charles J Scicluna celebrated funeral rites.

The congregation was led by President and Mrs George Vella and included Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, ministers and members of Parliament.

A funeral for him was held at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome last week with Pope Francis presiding over the last part of the rites.

Cardinal Grech was widely regarded as a distinguished Augustinian scholar, fiercely intelligent and good-humoured.

He also served as a gunner in the Royal Malta Artillery.

Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

'A man of great wisdom'

In his homily Archbishop Scicluna said Cardinal Grech was a man of great knowledge worthy of his Augustinian rites. The Cardinal, he said, understood that being knowledgeable meant accepting that there was always more to learn.

“Prospero was not born intelligent but became so intelligent because he was blessed with the knowledge of a person who knows that to be intelligent you have to continue to learn, work and excel,” the archbishop said. 

“He gave a lot of his knowledge to the church. In a difficult moment in the country’s history, he was not afraid to act as an intermediary and a vessel of reconciliation. But his actions were not understood and he paid the price. But the Lord has his own way and his own time.”

Cardinal Grech, the Archbishop said, loved being a servant of Christ, with eyes full of love and a profound sense of realism. 

He recalled fondly the Cardinal’s love of photography, capturing many stunning images of the Maltese islands. Cardinal Grech, he said, received the offer to be made a Cardinal with humility and one of his concerns was that he would no longer be allowed to ride his beloved Lambretta. 

“The Lord has been given great glory in the work of his servant Prospero, and it is in good faith that I say that Jesus was glorified in Cardinal Prospero.

Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

'He always kept himself involved'

Friends of Cardinal Grech who spoke to Times of Malta described him as a warm and generous man who was always quick with a joke. 

Members of the Association of Lyceum Past Students said that Cardinal Grech had been the group’s oldest member who made a point to participate despite a great number of other commitments. 

“He was a great friend, we developed a good rapport,” APLS deputy president Joseph Buttigieg said. 

“Once we were on a cruise in Rome and I thought should we pop in on the Cardinal. Well, when we knocked on his door he welcomed us right in,” Mr Buttigieg recalls. 

“He gave David (ALPS treasurer) his hat, but I had promised the cloister nuns of Valletta that I would bring one of the Cardinal’s hats for them as well and he didn’t have another one!”

“Well with him, nothing was a problem. He took us to a shop close by and we bought a hat. He wore it around for a while, popped it off and then signed it.” 

ALPS secretary-general Alex Borg said Cardinal Grech kept himself involved with his friends and came to organisation events whenever he was in Malta. Last March, he even travelled to celebrate mass in the newly restored St Anna’s chapel in Pwales, for ALPS members and the mostly rural community of the hamlet. 

“He always kept himself involved, whenever we asked for something he always accepted with a smile and inevitably a witty joke. He was very down to earth,” Mr Borg said. 

“The rank that he had or the fact that he was a cardinal didn’t matter to him. He considered himself as one of us.”