Second miracle approved - Dun Gorg canonisation process

The late Pope John Paul II praying in front of the remains of Blessed Gorg Preca at the MUSEUM chapel in Blata l-Bajda in May 2001

The Congregation for Sainthood Causes in Rome has approved a second miracle that should lead to the canonisation of the Blessed Gorg Preca, the Archbishop's Curia said yesterday.

The decision was taken following a discussion held at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican headed by Cardinal José Saraiva Martins on Tuesday.

The decision was originally expected in the middle of last year but was delayed.

Pope John Paul II beatified Dun Gorg in May 2001 but he was still one miracle short of sainthood.

Just over a month after his beatification, an inexplicable medical recovery took place after prayers were said through the intercession of Blessed Gorg Preca for the recovery of a baby boy.

The boy, who was born on June 15, 2001, developed complications in the liver 20 days after his birth and was rushed to St Luke's Hospital for treatment, but his condition deteriorated.

It was decided to take the boy to King's College Hospital, a specialised hospital in London, where he was put in intensive care.

On July 18 of the same year the doctors decided that the child's only hope for survival was through a liver transplant. A date for the operation was fixed but it resulted that the liver available was not appropriate for the boy. At that stage prayers were said to Blessed Gorg Preca and a glove, used in his exhumation, was placed on the child.

On July 20, the boy's condition changed and his liver started functioning normally. Four days later the doctors decided he no longer needed a transplant.

Nobody could explain what led to the child's rapid recovery. The boy was certified as healthy.

In July 2002, a process to examine the possibility of presenting this case to the Congregation for Sainthood Causes was started.

The latest development, though highly significant, does not mean that Dun Gorg - who was declared Blessed by Pope John Paul II during his visit to Malta in May 2001 - will automatically become a saint.

The cause must first go to the Ordinary Congregation of Cardinals who will consider all the arguments before handing it over to Pope Benedict XVI for a final decision.

The first miracle through the intercession of the Blessed Gorg Preca dates back to February 1964 and was that of Charles Zammit Endrich, whose detached retina healed after he placed a relic of Dun Gorg under his pillow.

The liturgical feast of Blessed Gorg Preca, founder of the MUSEUM Christian doctrine society, is celebrated on May 9.

Blessed George Preca

1880 - 1962

Memorial: July 26

Memorial: 26 July

Profile
Seventh in a Christian family of nine children, son of Vincent Preco and Nathalie Ceravolo. His father was a merchant and health inspector. A sickly child. Studied at the Lyceum and Major Seminary on Malta. A severe respiratory ailment in seminary nearly killed him; he recovered through the intercession of Saint Joseph. While still a student, he began writing a Rule in Latin for use in a planned society of Permanent Deacons. Ordained 22 December 1906.

After ordination he modified his concept of the society. He began teaching along the waterfront, working with the roughest of men. He gathered a group of young male catechists, including the Servant of God Eugene Borg, and they formed the beginning of the Society of Christian Doctrine at Hamrun, Malta in 1907. The Society's motto is represented by the letters M.U.S.E.U.M.: Latin Magister Utinam Sequator Evangelium Universus Mundus! (Master, that the whole world would follow the Gospel!, and were dedicated to bringing the Bible and theology to lay people and the working classes.

Educating the working class was so revolutionary that Father George was accused of insanity, and was once ordered to shut down his operation. He caused more uproar with his plan to educate lay men and women, and send them out to proclaim God's word anywhere that would listen.

Society catechist centers opened in many parishes, teaching young and old, and giving children a place to stay out of trouble. Their teaching brought a deeper understanding of the faith to people who simply went through the motions of devotions, often without knowing why. The bishop of Malta approved the Society and its Rule in 1932.

Father Preca taught and wrote in Maltese, the language of the common people. From leaflets to books, George published approximately 150 works. He had a special devotion to the Mystery of Incarnation. Popular preacher, sought after confessor, and believed to have been a healer. The Society continues its work today with Centers in Malta, Australia, Sudan, Kenya, Peru, Great Britain, and Albania.

Born: 12 February 1880 at Valletta, Malta
Died: evening of 26 July 1962 of natural causes at Santa Venera, Malta; relics near the Society's motherhouse at Blata l-Bajda
Beatified: 9 May 2001 by Pope John Paul II; beatification miracle involved the healing of an irreversibly detached retina of a member of the Society
Canonized: pending

Readings
Since his death in 1962, shortly before the opening of the Second Vatican Council, Blessed George Preca has been renowned for his holiness both in Malta and wherever the Maltese have settled. Dun Gorg was a pioneer in the field of catechetics and in promoting the role of the laity in the apostolate, which the Council was to stress in a particular way. Thus he became as it were Malta’s second father in faith. Embracing meekness and humility, and using to the full his God-given talents of mind and heart, Dun Gorg made his own the words of Paul to Timothy: "You have heard everything that I teach in public; hand it on to reliable people so that they in turn will be able to teach others" (2 Tim 2: 2). The Society of Christian Doctrine which he founded continues his work of witness and evangelization in these islands and elsewhere.

Not far from here the young seminarian Gorg Preca heard the prophetic words of a priestly mentor: "Gorg, when you grow up many who fear God will gather around you. You will be a blessing for them and they for you". Today the Church in Malta calls Gorg Preca "Blessed", for she knows that he is for her a native source of light and strength. In his writings on meekness -- his book L-Iskola tal-Manswetudni and his Letter -- Dun Gorg urges his fellow Christians to follow the example of the Crucified Lord in forgiving every offence (cf. Lk 23:34). Is not this message of mutual respect and forgiveness especially needed today in Malta and in the world? Yes indeed, the meekness of the Beatitudes has the power to transform the family, the workplace and schools, the towns and villages, politics and culture. It can change the world! "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (Mt 5:5).

Magister, utinam sequatur evangelium universus mundus (Divine Teacher, may the whole world follow the Gospel): the prayer of Blessed Dun Gorg perfectly mirrors the missionary mandate of the Lord: "Go therefore and make disciples ... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you"! (Mt 28:19-20). During the year of the Great Jubilee the whole Church experienced anew the eternal freshness of the loving mercy of the Father who sent his only Son for our salvation. Was it not Dun Gorg’s ability to communicate the freshness of the Christian message that made him the great apostle that he was? Is this not what Malta needs today: clergy, religious, catechists, teachers who passionately proclaim the Good News of what the Father has done for us in Christ? At the dawn of a new millennium, the Church looks to you, Malta, to be still more ardent in living your apostolic and missionary vocation! The whole Church looks to you!

-Pope John Paul II during the beatification Mass for Blessed George

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