How many of us can claim they have actually known a canonized saint?  Some of us rscj in Malta, including the undersigned, can make such a claim!  And certainly all the Maltese rscj knew him, at least by reputation, before they entered. For decades before he died in 1962 people were regarding him as a saint, and men and women from all walks of life respected and loved him, and sought his spiritual advice.

On Sunday, 3rd June 2007, the Pope canonized Dun Gorg Preca, the first Maltese saint, giving joy to this people who have waited and hoped for many years for such an event.

Dun Gorg was born in Valletta but brought up in Hamrun. So those rscj who are from this part of Malta remember him very well. I have memories of him walking the streets of my home town, and all the children rushing to kiss his hand and get a blessing. I remember him preaching the sajda (“fishing expedition”), when he would sit at a table on a platform in a street corner, and crowds come to listen to him talk about God. I was among the huge crowd present at his funeral.     

The Society in Malta has a direct link with Dun Gorg. In the early years after his ordination, Dun Gorg was a regular visitor to the convent at St. Julian’s (the only house of the Society at that point) where he would give spiritual talks to the nuns and to the children.

Dun Gorg was ordained priest in 1907. As soon as he was ordained, he began to follow a hitherto untrodden path. Appalled by the extent of religious ignorance, he believed that every Christian should be familiar with the Bible and should have a solid foundation in Scripture and Theology. He gathered a small group of young men, mostly uneducated, ordinary workmen, and began to teach them. His plan was to train these young men, who would then in turn teach catechism to children and adults alike. He began to open one centre after another, and the reputation of these new, lay catechists, began to grow. 

The path he trod was new and therefore rough. Criticism and misunderstandings were inevitable. The archbishop ordered him to close all his catechism centres. His prompt obedience convinced the archbishop that this was the work of God, and Dun Gorg and his organization received official approval. In a short while there were centres in every town and village in Malta and Gozo, and most of the children’s catechism classes were, and still are, in the hands of these dedicated people.

The institute Dun Gorg founded is called “The Society of Christian Doctrine” or “M.U.S.E.U.M.” (the acronym of the Latin name meaning: “May the whole world, O Lord, follow the gospel”, corrupted to MUSEW in Maltese).  Nearly sixty years after Dun Gorg founded this lay institute, Vatical II promulgated the Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, who are all encouraged to study and pray the Bible! The MUSEUM has spread to Australia, England, Sudan, Kenya and Albania.