Gozo will bid farewell to Bishop Mario Grech tomorrow at the Xewkija Rotunda during a concelebrated Mass at 6pm.

On October 2, 2019, Pope Francis announced that he had appointed Mgr Grech as the pro-secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, succeeding Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri.

The son of George and Maria-Stella, Mgr Grech was born in Qala on February 20, 1957. He was ordained priest by Bishop Nikol Cauchi on May 26, 1984.

Following his ordination, Mgr Grech proceeded with his studies at the Pontifical Lateran University, Rome, from where he got a licentiate utroque iure in Canon and Civil Law. Later, he graduated with a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical University San Tomaso, the Angelicum, also in Rome.

Back in Gozo, Bishop Cauchi appointed Mgr Grech lecturer of Canon Law at the seminary, judicial vicar for the Gozo diocese and judge at the Metropolitan Tribunal (Malta) on November 13, 2004, followed by his appointment as Kerċem parish priest.

On November 26, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI elected him as the eighth bishop of Gozo, succeeding Bishop Cauchi. He was consecrated bishop on January 22, 2006.

According to Gozitan historian Joseph Bezzina, during his almost 16-year tenure as bishop, Mgr Grech presided over 13 ordinations, ordaining a total of 25 diocesan priests.

He was also the main consecrator in two episcopal ordinations, that of Bishop George Bugeja, Vicar Apostolic of Tripoli and Apostolic Administrator of Benghazi, Libya, and recently of his successor, Bishop Anton Teuma.

The Synod of Bishops was founded by Pope Saint Paul VI on September 15, 1965. Its aim is to emphasis the collegiality of the Church and serve as an advisory body for the Pope.

The permanent general secretariat, to be headed by Mgr Grech as its sixth secretary general, is made up of a 15-member council, 12 of whom are elected by each general assembly and three are appointed by the pope.