Various parishes are welcoming Mgr Mario Grech after he was created cardinal last week. Kerċem parish, his home town, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary of Perpetual Succour and Pope St Gregory the Great, will welcome Cardinal Grech on December 8, feast of the Immaculate Conception. He will lead a Pontifical Mass at 6pm.
Mgr Grech will also lead a concelebrated Mass, together with the Gozitan clergy at the Xewkija Rotunda on Sunday, December 6, at 5pm. The following day, eve of the solemnity of the feast of the Immaculate Conception, he will celebrate Mass at the Qala Sanctuary at 6pm. On Wednesday, December 9, he will lead Pontifical Mass at St John Co-Cathedral, Valletta, while on Friday, he celebrates Mass as part of the festivities in honour of St Lucy at Santa Luċija, Gozo. On Saturday, Mass will be said by Cardinal Grech at the National Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Ta’ Pinu at 6pm.
Meanwhile, Kerċem, proud of the achievements of one of its sons, has placed the coat of arms of the former bishop together with that of cardinal on the façade of the parish church. The coat of arms were executed by Luke Azzopardi. The coat of arms were also placed on the family’s residence in Kerċem. This time, they were executed by Paul Falzon.
Mgr Mario, the son of George and Maria Stella, was born in Qala. However, less than five years later, his family moved to Kerċem, where Mgr Grech grew up. Fr Mikelanġ Grech, his father’s uncle, though based at the Cathedral, would not fail to keep an eye on him. In fact, Bishop Nikol Cauchi ordained Mgr Grech priest at the Gozo Cathedral on May 26, 1984, together with Mgr Alfred Xuereb, former secretary to Pope Benedict XIII and Pope Francis. Mgr Xuereb is currently Apostolic Nuncio to South Korea and Mongolia.
Mgr Grech celebrated his first solemn Mass at Kerċem on July 22, 1984. Following his ordination, Mgr Grech proceeded with his studies at the Pontifical Lateran University and the Pontifical University San Tomaso, the Angelicum, in Rome. Back in Gozo, Bishop Cauchi appointed him lecturer of Canon Law at the seminary and judicial vicar for the Gozo diocese.
On November 13, 2004, Bishop Cauchi appointed him parish priest of Kerċem. In less than a year, Pope Benedict XVI elected him as the eighth bishop of Gozo, succeeding Bishop Cauchi, who tendered his resignation after reaching retiring age. He was consecrated bishop at the Victoria Cathedral on January 22, 2006.
