Archbishop Charles Scicluna has appointed Fr Mario Tong as archpriest of the parish of The Conversion of St Paul in Mdina.

Fr Mario was born on April 29, 1953. He was educated at the Archbishop’s Seminary in Tal-Virtù, Rabat, and was ordained a priest on June 19, 1977.

He began his pastoral work in the diocese of Gibraltar where, for several years, he served in the Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned, in the parish of St Joseph the Worker, and was also the chaplain of the general hospital of Gibraltar.

Fr Mario also worked at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs parish in Centerport, Rockville Centre, Long Island, New York.

In the archdiocese of Malta, over the years he was parish priest of Marsaxlokk, parish priest of St Joseph the Worker in Birkirkara, archpriest of Mosta, archpriest of the collegiate parish church of St Paul Shipwrecked in Valletta, and parish priest at Tal-Ibraġ.

During the last two years, Fr Mario has also given pastoral service in the parish of Attard, in the Office of Marriages in the Archbishop’s Curia and in the Monastery of the Benedictine Sisters in Mdina.

The parish of Mdina has a population of about 246 people.