Fr John Vella of Victoria has been appointed new Police Force Gozo chaplain following the death of Mgr Paul Cardona on June 21.

Vella has been a practicing psychotherapist since 1997 and a Jungian psychoanalyst since 2014. He has a master’s degree and a PhD in counselling and psychotherapy.

He is a member of the International Association of Analytical Psychology and is a registered psychotherapist and clinical supervisor.

Vella worked in a local drug rehabilitation centre for five years and is a former counsellor at the University of Malta where he served as head of the University Counselling Unit for 10 years.

He has been in private practice since 1997, running sensitivity training with diverse students and groups and lecturing in diverse settings.

Vella also trained as a Jungian psychoanalyst and in 2017 he graduated as a Jungian analyst with the International Association of Analytical Psychology.

He formally retired in 2019 but still works in private practice and is frequently consulted by schools where he supervises heads and runs seminars in Gozo.

Vella was ordained in 1992 and forms part of the Gozo diocese. He helps out at St George parish church and at the Don Bosco Oratory in Victoria. 

Mgr Paul Cardona’s father and Vella’s father, both dead, were members of the Police Force.