An urn to hold the remains of Fra Grazzja Gauci, OSA, is being created at Eikon – the centre for liturgical arts of the Gozo Diocese.

Fra Grazzja, who is in the process of being beatified and canonised, was born in Għarb on February 9, 1911.

After a long and very active life in the service of the Gospel and of the Christian formation of the people of God, Fra Grazzja died at Dar tal-Kleru, in Birkirkara, on February 8, 2005.

After the Augustinian Province made plans to take the remains of Fra Grazzja to Gozo and bury them in a prominent place, it went on to commission Eikon to create an urn in the form of a tomb holding Fra Grazzja’s remains and placed in the Augustinian convent where he lived for a long time.

The urn will take the form of an arch made out of Maltese stone by Mario and Josef Spiteri and decorated with mosaic works. An oil painting on the face of the urn, by Fr Roberto Gauci, director of Eikon, will complement the burial place.

Fra Grazzja was known for his simple, humble and holy life with the Algerian people with whom he lived for more than 40 years at the Maltese Augustinian mission of Hippo.

On the 200th anniversary of the Maltese Augustinian Province foundation, Fr Josef Sciberras, postulator general of the Order of Augustinian monks, submitted the request to the then Bishop of Gozo Mario Grech to open the process for the beatification and canonisation of Fra Grazzja.

The tribunal to examine witnesses knowing Fra Grazzja was inaugurated on May 23, 2019.