Former Labour MP Silvio Parnis, who died on Tuesday, was “a man of the people” who saw politics as a way to change the world for the better, Fr Joseph Mizzi told mourners at the funeral Mass held in Paola on Friday.

“Politics was his mission, his vocation, his calling. He chose politics to serve and not to be served,” Fr Mizzi told a packed church during the Mass held at Kristu Re Basilica in Paola – the beloved hometown of Parnis.

Parnis died on Tuesday, aged 57, following a period of ill health as a result of cancer. Before the mass, his coffin passed by Labour Party headquarters in Ħamrun.

During the homily, Fr Mizzi stressed that Parnis was a man of strong faith who always trusted in the will of God, even in his final moments.

“He had many positive qualities that are to inspire us… He was a man close to the people who had a big, open heart. He knew how to love and listen. He knew how to build meaningful relationships with people until his last moments,” he said adding that many benefited from the generosity of Parnis who was, above everything, a family man who loved his locality and his country.

The late Former Labour MP Silvio Parnis

Parnis, who quit politics last year after opting not to contest the 2022 general election, sat on Labour’s parliamentary benches for 24 years. First elected in 1998, he grew to be a popular politician in the fourth electoral district, gaining a reputation as a grassroots politician who looked to build and maintain close ties with his constituents of Paola, Gudja, Santa Luċija, Tarxien and Fgura.  

Prior to being elected to parliament, he was mayor of Paola between 1994 and 1998.  After 19 years as a backbench MP, Parnis was given his first executive role, as local government parliamentary secretary in the second Joseph Muscat-led government following Labour’s 2017 electoral victory.

The Paola-born politician was especially popular among the elderly, whose causes and personal grievances he championed throughout his career.

He was appointed parliamentary secretary for active ageing in Robert Abela's first cabinet in January 2020, but lost that post and returned to the PL backbench following a reshuffle in November of that year.