Contents
List of tables
................................................................................................................
PAGEREF tables \h xiv
List of
abbreviations......................................................................................................
PAGEREF abb \h xv
Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................
PAGEREF ack \h xvi
Introduction
..................................................................................................................
PAGEREF intro \h xvi
PART ONE – Joseph De
Piro: His Life and
Activity.....................................................
PAGEREF p4 \h 4
Chapter One – The private and public
phases of the life of Joseph De Piro................ PAGEREF life \h
6
Section I - The private phase of his
life (1877-1904): From birth to the first two years of
priesthood PAGEREF part1 \h 6
De
Piro’s birth , childhood and early youth…6;
Member of the Royal Malta Militia…9;
Member of the Congregazione degli Onorati…
PAGEREF onor \h 9;
Drawing and painting…10;
De Piro’s call to the priesthood…11;
Death of Joseph’s father…12;
Studies of philosphy and theology in Rome…13;
Worries, prayers … but even projects…14;
Minor Orders…16;
Subdiaconate, diaconate and presbyterate…213;
The “Accademia Ecclesiastica” issue put aside…20;
Poor health…20;
At Davos, Switzerland…21.
Section II - The public phase
of his life (1904-1933): From the first years of
priesthood up to his
death..............................................................................................
PAGEREF pa \h 22
(i) - A priest dedicated to the local
Church....................................................................
PAGEREF pr \h 22
Assistant parishpriest at the Qrendi Parish, Malta…22;
Procurator of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Consolation, Qrendi,
Malta…24;
Sindaco Apostolico of the Franciscan Minors Convent, Rabat, Malta…24;
Canon of the Metropolitan Chapter…25;
Effective Member of the General Committee of the XXIV International
Eucharistic Congress (1913)…29;
Co-rector of the Manresa Retreat House, Floriana, Malta…30;
Director of the Associazione Sacerdoti Adoratori…30;
Secretary of Archbishop Mauro Caruana…30;
Member of the Commission for the formation of young priests…31;
Deputy of the Commission for the temporary administration of the
Major Semianry, Mdina, Malta…32;
Rector of the Major Seminary, Mdina, Malta…33;
Member of the Camera Pontificia Maltese…35;
Dean of the Metropolitan Chapter, Malta…35;
Acting Parishpriest of
the Gudia Parish, Malta…36;
Cooperator in the foundation and growth
of Maltese religious congregations…37
- the Daughters of the
Sacred Heart...37,
the Franciscan Sisters of the Heart of Jesus...38,
the Missionary Sisters of Jesus of Nazareth...40;
President of the Special Consultative
Committee for the restoration of St Paul’s Church, Rabat, Malta…41;
Minister of the Word…42.
Archbishop’s Delegate in the Committee for the Peace Feasts…43;
Member of the National Assembly (1919-1921)…43;
The Sette Giugno Riots (1919)…44;
Cashier of the Committee Pro Maltesi Morti e Feriti per la Causa
Nazionale il 7 Giugno del 1919…45;
Member of the Committee for the Visit of H.R.H., the Prince of Wales
(1921)…46;
Member of the Unione Leoniana…46;
Member of the governing board of the Malta War Memorial Hospital for
Children…48;
Member of the Special Committee of the British Empire Exhibition…48;
Archbishop’s representative on the Committee of the Zammit Clapp
Hospital…48;
Archbishop’s representative on the Organising Committee for the
Visit of the Duke and Duckess of York…49;
Member of the Tourism Committee…49;
Mediator between the Church and Lord Gerard Strickland…50;
Senator in the Third Maltese Parliament…50.
(iii) - A father to the orphans and the
poor....................................................................
PAGEREF fath \h 51
Director of Fra Diegu Institute, Hamrun, Malta…51;
Secretary of the Committee of the Bishop’s Foundation for the bread
to the poor during the War…52;
Director of the Jesus of Nazareth Institute, Zejtun, Malta…53;
Director of St Joseph’s Institute, Santa Venera, Malta…54;
Director of St Joseph’s Institute, Ghajnsielem, Gozo…54;
Director of the Home for babies and young children, Santa Venera,
Malta…56;
Director of St Francis de Paul Institute, B’Kara, Malta…56;
His testamentary will and the Institutes…57;
Director of the Workshop or Laboratory for unemplyed young women,
Valletta…57;
Director of the Birkirkara Oratory…58.
(iiib) A non-institutionalised
charity..............................................................................
PAGEREF le \h 60
(iiic) Working for
justice...............................................................................................
PAGEREF wor \h 60
(iv) - De Piro’s Missionary
Spirit..................................................................................
PAGEREF sp \h 61
The “Idea”…61;
A lot of work in Malta and for the Maltese migrants, but priority to
the missions ad gentes…67;
The “Saint Paul: Almanac of the Institute of the Missions”…67.
(v) - His sudden
death....................................................................................................
PAGEREF sud \h 68
PART TWO - De Piro’s
love for the underprivileged and for evangelisation............
PAGEREF two \h 75
Chapter Two -
De Piro’s love for the
underprivileged: His institutionalised
charity, his non-institutionalised charity, and his work for
justice.....................................................................................
PAGEREF und \h 75
Introduction - Malta in the 19 and
early years of the 20 centuries…75
- The population...75,
The socio-economic conditions...75,
Nutrition...80,
The housing conditions...80,
Clothing...82,
Hygiene... PAGEREF hygi \h 82,
Education...83;
Begging...85
– The government’s share in charity...85,
The local Church’s share in charity...86,
De Piro’s share in charity...89.
Section I -
De Piro’s love for the underprivileged through
an institutionalised charity PAGEREF sec \h 89
(i) Director of Fra Diegu
Institute, Hamrun,
Malta................................................. PAGEREF di \h
89
De Piro’s dedication to Fra Diegu
Institute...89;
A very humble Director…91;
A balanced formator – loving but firm…91;
Financial guarantor for the Institute…92;
Grateful towards the benefactors…92;
A holistic formation - The learning of crafts…93,
Care of the spiritual aspect of the girls’ life…93,
Recreation, an important element in the girls’ upbringing…94;
The Director’s love for the families of the girls of Fra Diegu…95;
De Piro’s love even for the old girls…95;
De Piro, the orderly Director and a one who trusted God’s
Providence…97.
(ii) Director of the Jesus of
Nazareth Institute, Zejtun, Malta................................
PAGEREF je \h 99
De Piro, the Director of the
Orphanage…100;
His charity, the virtue that showed most…103;
His visits to the Jesus of Nazareth Institute… PAGEREF visits \h 104;
Did not talk frequently to the girls…105;
But he was gentle and kind with the girls … and enjoyed their
company…104;
Non talkative but sociable…105;
The poor and humble Director…105;
Holistic care of the girls… PAGEREF ho1 \h 105
- The physical health…106,
Food…106,
Hygiene…106,
Clothing…106,
Schooling…106,
Crafts…107,
Recreation…107,
He did encourage feasting…107,
The spiritual aspect…107,
Preparation for their future… PAGEREF pre1 \h 108,
Discipline and corrections…108.
(iii) Director of St Joseph Home,
Santa Venera, Malta..........................................
PAGEREF jo \h 109
Introduction…109;
De Piro’s initial involvement at St Joseph’s, Malta…110;
De Piro, the fourth Director of the Institute…112;
At St Joseph’s with the members of his Society…112;
What had been the situation of St Joseph’s before De Piro took
over…112;
Who were the boys at the Institute…113;
How many boys at the Institute…113;
De Piro was already quite busy when he took over St Joseph’s…113;
Because of the above, St Joseph’s not an easy job at all…114;
In fact all this and many other duties made De Piro very busy and
often tired…114;
De Piro could not be all the time present at the Institute…115;
Yet De Piro was synonymous with St Joseph’s…115;
De Piro’s relationship with the boys…115;
But he was never a one to be afraid of…116;
Because he was very humble…117;
When correcting the boys he still showed them his love and
kindness…117;
In this environment De Piro helped the holistic growth of the
boys…118
- The spiritual care…118,
Food…120,
Clothing…122,
In sickness…122,
The academic aspect…122,
The trades… PAGEREF t \h 124,
The music band…125,
Money saving…126,
Recreation…126,
The boys’ relationship with their families…128,
Reinsertion of the boys in the normal life after leaving the
Institute…128,
The end result…129;
De Piro was not alone…129
- To these De Piro delegated responsibilities…130,
… but he demanded accountability…130,
… and dignity…130;
Together with an organised good staff, De Piro had other sources of
support - His own family…130,
Especially his own mother…131,
The benefactors…131,
Himself a benefactor of the Institute…131,
But more than anything else he believed in Providence…132;
With all these De Piro worked miracles…132
- De Piro planned to send the St Joseph’s boys to the USA…133,
He enlarged the building of the Institute…133,
He provided a house for babies…134;
No limits for his generosity…134
- De Piro was always in solidarity with the boys…134,
The Director was in contact even with the families of the boys…135,
De Piro helped the employees of the Institute…135,
De Piro prepared the boys for life…136;
“An internal feeling tells me that God, from this Institute, wants
to form in Malta a Congregation of priests under the patronage of St
Paul…” PAGEREF internal \h 136.
(iv) Director of St Joseph’s Home,
Ghajnsielem, Gozo........................................... PAGEREF
jo1 \h 137
Gozo - an introduction…137
- The population…138,
Standard of living…138,
The public health system…139;
The Institute at Ghajnsielem, Gozo …139,
- The attempts by the bishops of Gozo…140,
The Gozo parishpriests sought the help of De Piro…140,
A branch of St Joseph’s, Malta, to be led by the Society of De
Piro …141,
De Piro did not want any interference from the side of the local
hierarchy in the administration of the Institute…142;
Inauguration of St Joseph’s Institute, Gozo…148;
The admission of the boys at St Joseph’s, Gozo…152;
The Director, a very busy man…152;
De Piro’s visits to St Joseph’s…153;
In his visits De Piro mostly talked to the Fathers…153;
No small talk from the side of the Director…154;
At the same time the Director was very affable…154;
Because he was humble…155;
The Director’s contact with the boys…156;
A holistic care of the boys…156
- The spiritual aspect…156,
The physical health…257,
Food…158,
Clothing…158,
Cleanliness…159,
Academic formation…159,
A trades school…161,
The music band at St Joseph’s: background…162,
De Piro started the music band at St Joseph’s…163,
Recreation…164,
Preparation for life…164;
De Piro, the man who always had new projects in mind…165;
The means with which De Piro directed the Institute - De Piro’s
administration…165,
His determination, courage and orderliness …165,
The members of his Society…165,
On his part the Servant of God respected the role of those
responsible for the House…167,
De Piro’s relationship with the employees at the Institute…167,
Fundraising…167,
The benefactors…168,
But his faith in Providence over and above anything else…168;
De Piro was therefore loved by the boys and all…169;
Vocation recruitment at St Joseph’s, Gozo…170;
But he never used any pressure on the boys…171.
(v) Director of the Home for
little boys, Sta
Venera.............................................. PAGEREF new \h
171
(vi) Director of St Francis de
Paul Home, Birkirkara (B’Kara), Malta................. PAGEREF fra
\h 171
(vii) A beggar for the children of
the
Institutes.........................................................
PAGEREF bega \h 172
(viii) De Piro’s testamentary will
and the Institutes..................................................
PAGEREF testa \h 172
(ix) De Piro’s care for the old
boys and old girls of the Institutes..........................
PAGEREF old6 \h 173
Director of the Sacred Heart
Laboratory, a workshop for unemplyed girls, Valletta, Malta…173;
De Piro’s second intervention in the Third Maltese Parliament in
favour of the old boys and old girls of the institutes…176;
The old girls of the institutes in his testamentary will…179.
(x) The Birkirkara (B’Kara)
Oratory......................................................................
PAGEREF birk \h 180
A Centre for boys…180;
an Oratory for the sons of the people…183;
The formation imparted at the Oratory…186.
Section II - De Piro’s love for the
underprivileged through a non-institutionalised charity
PAGEREF cont1 \h 188
(i) Financial
aid........................................................................................................
PAGEREF fi \h 188
(ia) From his own
money...........................................................................................
PAGEREF aid \h 188
(ib) From the money of Fra Diegu
Institute and St Joseph’s Home, Malta........... PAGEREF money \h
190
(ii) Non-financial
help...............................................................................................
PAGEREF non \h 194
(iia) Caring for the physical
health............................................................................
PAGEREF ca \h 194
(iib) A listening
ear.....................................................................................................
PAGEREF li \h 195
(iic) Academic formation of
youth..............................................................................
PAGEREF ac1 \h 195
Section III - De Piro’s love for the
underprivileged through his promotion of justice PAGEREF sec2 \h 197
(i) Stole-fees to confessors
and conference masters.............................................
PAGEREF stole \h 197
(ii) Justice with the employees
depending on him...................................................
PAGEREF jus1 \h 197
The employees of the Major Seminary,
Mdina, Malta…197;
The employees at St Joseph’s, Malta…197.
(iii) Justice during the riots of
the Sette Giugno
1919............................................. PAGEREF ju \h 199
The socio-economic history of Malta
before the Sette Giugno…199;The
National Assembly - justice with all the Maltese…200;
Saturday, 7 June 1919 - justice with the unemployed and the othpoor
Maltese…201;
Sunday, 8 June 1919 - justice with the unemployed and the other poor
Maltese (continued)…204;
Monday, 9 June 1919 - justice with the Archbishop…208.
Chapter Three - De Piro’s love for
evangelisation: De Piro’s “evangelisation to the faithful”, his
“second evangelisation” and his “first
evangelisation”...........................................................
PAGEREF ev \h 210
Section I - De Piro’s
“evangelisation to the faithful” or his evangelisation
to the Maltese in
Malta...............................................................................................
PAGEREF ev1 \h 211
(i) De Piro’s drawn
evangelisation in
Malta..........................................................
PAGEREF dr4 \h 211
Introduction: the devotion of the face
of the suffering Jesus…211;
De Piro’s drawing of the face of the suffering Jesus…212;
A study of the drawing…212.
(ii) De Piro’s preached
evangelisation in
Malta..................................................... PAGEREF
pr2 \h 214
The Word of God as the basic source…214;
Hagiography and the writings of spiritual masters as another
source…215;
The themes of De Piro’s preaching in Malta…215
- The Word of God…215,
The incarnation of Jesus Christ…216,
Jesus’ crucifixion…216,
The Eucharist…217,
The Sacred Heart of Jesus…219,
God the Father…220,
The Holy Spirit…220,
Our Lady…221,
Mary’s Immaculate Conception…221,
Mary our hope all along our life…221,
Mary hope for peace at the time of the First World War…223,
Salve Regina - Mater Misericordiae…225,
Our duties towards Mary…226,
As far as being consecrated to her…226,
Saint Paul…227,
Other saints…228,
The other topics preached by De Piro…229.
(iii) De Piro’s printed
evangelisation in Malta or the “Saint Paul:
Almanac of the Institute
of the
Missions”.........................................................
PAGEREF pr25 \h 229
The contents in general…229;
a more central topic - the Maltese migrants…230;
the most central topic - the missionary animation…232.
(iv) De Piro’s catechised
evangelisation in
Malta................................................... PAGEREF ca1
\h 235
Introduction - the teaching of
catechism in
Malta...................................................... PAGEREF
ca2 \h 235
(iva) De Piro’s personal catechetical
evangelisation to the Maltese children......... PAGEREF ca4 \h 239
In Mtarfa, a Rabat suburb…240;
in the Church’s charitable institutes…240.
(ivb) De Piro’s catechetical
evangelisation to the Maltese children and
youths through his
Society..................................................................................
PAGEREF ca7 \h 241
The teaching of catechism in the first
houses of the Society…241;
He organised catechism classes since the very first years of the
Society’s existence…241;
He catered for boys…and all of them…242;
He paid from his own money for the lodging of the catechism
classes…242;
He even made available the first house of the Society for the
teaching of catechism… and in fact several parts of the building…242;
His continuous attention for development of the catechetical
evangelisation…243;
De Piro involved the members of his Society…243;
The Founder involved especially the lay brothers…244;
De Piro gave his support with his own physical presence…244;
The catechetical service of De Piro and his Society did not have
geographical limits…244;
He and the members of his Society prepared the boys for the first
holy communion and confirmation…244;
… and even furthur than these two stages…245;
The catechism teaching imparted in the house of De Piro’s Society
was more organised than in some other places…245;
De Piro and the members of his Society did more than memory
catechetical teaching…246;
He and the Society gave the catechetical formation within a holistic
context…246.
(ivc) The catechetical formation of
children and youths: two main
apostolates in De Piro’s
Constitutions for his Missionary Society and in
his correspondence with the
ecclesiastical hierarchy........................................
PAGEREF ca24 \h 247
For all the members of his Society…247
- For the children…247,
For youths…248,
More than memory work…248,
The basis for the teaching of catechism: a holistic formation…248,
Youths helped by youths…248,
The young helpers must be themselves helped…249,
Love, crucial for youth catechesis…249,
And this on an individual basis…249;
Especially for the lay brothers…250
- In his correspondence with
the local and Vatican hierarchy… PAGEREF vatican1 \h 250,
In the Society’s Original Constitutions…252,
In St Joseph’s Institute, Malta…253.
(ivd) At the Oratory,
B’Kara......................................................................................
PAGEREF ca38 \h 254
Introduction - The teaching of
catechism in B’Kara…254;
De Piro, the members of the Society and the teaching of catechism at
the Oratory, B’Kara…256;
The Oratory and the Society of Christian Doctrine (MUSEUM)…258.
Section II - De Piro’s “second
evangelisation” or his evangelisation to
the Maltese
migrants...................................................................................................
PAGEREF mi1 \h 259
Introduction - Migration during the 19
and early years of the 20 centuries............. PAGEREF mi2 \h 259
(i) De Piro’s
contribution.........................................................................................
PAGEREF kont \h 260
(ia) Publication of information
about the living of the christian life by
the Maltese communities abroad - the
“Saint Paul: Almanac of the
......... Institute of the
Missions”...................................................................................
PAGEREF mi3 \h 260
(ib) .. He helped the Maltese
migrants by finding for them diocesan or religious priests and nuns
who could evangelise
them..................................................................................................
PAGEREF mi4 \h 260
(ic)... He himself went to
evangelise the Maltese in Tunis and Carthage.................
PAGEREF mi5 \h 262
(id) De Piro founded a Society
whose secondary aim was the evangelisation
of the Maltese
migrants.....................................................................................
PAGEREF mi6 \h 264
Before the foundation of his
Society…265,
after the foundation of his Society…267,
De Piro continued mentioning the migrants even when facing
misunderstanding regarding the principal aim of his Society…268,
in the Original Constitutions…275,
in the “Saint Paul: Almanac of the Institute of the Missions”…275.
(ie) Why was De Piro so
determined to evangelise the Maltese
migrants...............................................................................................................
PAGEREF mi12 \h 276
Section III - De Piro’s first
evangelisation or his evangelisation
ad
gentes.......................................................................................................................
PAGEREF g \h 277
Introduction -
The missionary
movement....................................................................
PAGEREF intro1 \h 277
Worldwide…278;
In Italy…281;
Several of the popes and the Vatican…284;
The missionary movement in Malta…287
- The Opera della Propagazione della Fede…287,
The Opera della Santa Infanzia…289,
The Casolani Project…289,
The Crociata Missionaria San Paolo…291.
(i) De Piro, a promotor of the
first evangelisation or his evangelisation
ad gentes..............................................................................................................
PAGEREF g11 \h 292
(ia) The publication of the
“Saint Paul: Almanac of the Institute of the
Missions”............................................................................................................
PAGEREF g12 \h 293
The missionary work is for all…293;
The truths contained in it - First evangelisation, a special
evangelisation…294,
It is God who calls the evangelisers and sends them to the ad
gentes countries…294,
The missions ad gentes are set up in the name of God…295,
Missionaries are working for God…295,
In fact Jesus is the master of the missions…295,
For De Piro the missionaries are those who…295,
What is faith according to the Servant of God?…296,
The tools of the missionaries…296,
The importance of contemplative religious commmunities in the
missions…297,
The necessity of the indigenous clergy…297
: On the example of the first christian communities…299,
Three reasons why the indigenous missionaries are necessary…299,
The result of the work of the indigenous missionaries…299,
Saint Paul, model of every missionary…299.
(ib) The sending of
missionaries.....................................................................................
PAGEREF g28 \h 300
The foundation of a Society for the
evangelisation ad gentes…300
- Seemed to be primarily for Maltese migrants…300
: De Piro’s own writings…300,
The impression of others…301,
The Maltese migrants, only a chronological priority - the
missions ad gentes, the primary aim …302;
De Piro sent the first member of his Society to the missions ad
gentes…303
- Br Joseph Caruana in Abyssinia…304;
More correspondence between De Piro and Fr Angelo Mizzi; De Piro
himself wanted to go to Somalia…306;
De Piro provided continuous support to his first missionary…307
- The Somalia museum…308,
The Laboratory for the Abyssinia mission…308;
Further plans for Ethiopia…309.
(ic) De Piro himself for
Abyssinia.............................................................................
PAGEREF g41 \h 312
(id) De Piro’s missionary
convictions in the Constitutions of his Society...............
PAGEREF g42 \h 313
First among the apostolates of the
Society…313;
With no geographical limits…314;
Within the context of a parish…314;
Always subject to the local hierarchy…314;
Accountable to the immediate superior of the Society…314;
The prayerful life of the evangeliser - A support for his
evangelisation…315,
Prayer for the evangelisation itself…315;
And by an exemplary life…315;
What De Piro meant by evangelisation…316
- Evagelisation of the whole person…316,
A non-possessive evangelisation or plantatio ecclesiae…316.
PART Three – De
Piro’s
Charity.............................................................................
PAGEREF c4 \h 318
Chapter Four - De Piro’s charity:
aspects..................................................................
PAGEREF ch2 \h 319
(i) An option for the materially
poor.......................................................................
PAGEREF ch4 \h 320
What helped De Piro opt for the
materially
poor........................................................ PAGEREF
ch5 \h 327
Gratis apostolate…327;
His humility…327.
(ii) An option for the poor
lacking the Good
News................................................. PAGEREF ch8 \h
328
The choice between remaining in Rome in
order to go to the “Accademia”, or returning to Malta where he could
start the Society which was expected to help “… quelli che
difettanto di operai evangelici”… PAGEREF operai \h 328;
A choice between continuing the option of the apostolate with
migrants and the more immediate approval of the Society…329.
What helped De Piro opt for the poor
lacking the Good News.................................. PAGEREF ch9
\h 330
The love of the Father shown through
the Incarnate, Suffering and Eucharistic Son, the one with a Heart
full of love for all…330.
(iii) An option for those in
immediate
need..............................................................
PAGEREF ch11 \h 331
What helped De Piro opt for those in
the most immediate need................................ PAGEREF ch12
\h 332
His adaptability…332.
(iv) A personal
involvement......................................................................................
PAGEREF ch14 \h 333
What helped De Piro be personally
involved..............................................................
PAGEREF ch15 \h 335
The incarnate Jesus…335
; Jesus in the Eucharist…336.
(v) In unity with
others.............................................................................................
PAGEREF ch18 \h 337
What helped De
Piro love in unity with
others............................................................
PAGEREF ch19 \h 344
His leadership…344;
Delegated
responsibilities…345;
Did
not mince words…345;
De Piro respected the roles of others…347;
De Piro’s ability to relate well with the employees of the entities
under his care…348;
His
ability to seek the help of others…348;
He was able to dialogue…350;
De Piro’s gratitude and appreciation…352.
(vi) A limitless incentive and
creativity....................................................................
PAGEREF ch28 \h 358
What helped De Piro live his
limitless incetive and creativity...................................
PAGEREF ch29 \h 370
Zeal, devoted dedication,
responsibility, determination, courage, perseverance,
consistency…370;
De Piro’s belief in God’s providence…372;
Did not give up when facing difficulties because he believed that
God’s help was stronger than the devil’s power…377;
Strong intellect, realistic and
practical…378;
Prudent…378;
Methodical…379;
Satisfied and happy with own achievements, grateful to himself…380.
(vii) A solidarity with the poor and
the needy...........................................................
PAGEREF ch37 \h 380
What helped De Piro live his solidarity
with the poor and the needy........................ PAGEREF ch38 \h
382
Jesus incarnate, the Suffering Jesus,
Jesus in the Eucharist…382.
(viii) Did not expose the others’
mistakes.................................................................
PAGEREF ch40 \h 382
What
helped De Piro not expose the others’
mistakes.............................................. PAGEREF ch41
\h 383
Good, pious and holy…383.
(ix) A love
towards those who did not support
him.................................................. PAGEREF ch43
\h 383
What helped De Piro love those who did
not support him.......................................... PAGEREF
ch44 \h 386
God’s love for him, a sinner and therefore God’s enemy…386.
(x) A holistic
love......................................................................................................
PAGEREF ch46 \h 387
The physical aspect…389
– Food…389,
Clothing…392,
Hygiene…395,
Physical health/care of the sick…396,
Housing… PAGEREF ch53 \h 398,
Financial and other material help…399,
Recreation…402;
The spiritual aspect (that which had to do with the human
character)…405
- Appreciation for service rendered…405,
A listening ear … and more than that…405,
The need of self government…406,
Schooling…407,
Trades/crafts…410,
The music band…411,
A good management…412,
Discipline and corrections…414,
Relationship with family…417,
Relationship with other people outside the entity…418,
Preparation for life outside the ecclesiastical charitable
institutes…418,
Vocation and decision making…418;
The religious aspect (religious practices)…419
- Teaching of the catholic faith…419,
Moral formation…423,
Liturgy/paraliturgy…424,
The Eucharist…425,
Confession or the sacrament of reconciliation…426,
Prayer and religious practices…427,
The Marian devotion…430,
Mary Assumed into heaven…431,
Saint Paul…434,
Saint Joseph… PAGEREF s3 \h 435,
Other saints…436,
Pastoral training…436;
The religious life aspect…438
- The community dimension…439,
The vows…439,
Chastity…439,
Poverty… PAGEREF p1 \h 440,
Obedience…442,
And the vow of mission…65.
What helped De Piro have a holistic
charity...............................................................
PAGEREF w \h 445
Mary assumed into heaven…445;
The lives of the saints considered together…445;
The holistic charity of Jesus…446.
(xi) Until it
hurts.........................................................................................................
PAGEREF ch94 \h 446
His own money…446;
The Society’s and
therefore his own houses…448;
His own bed and clothes…448;
His own rest…449;
His own food…449;
His own time…450;
His own dignity, prestige, honour, status and reputation…453;
Promotions in the civil society…454;
Ecclesiastical promotions…455;
His own health and his own life itself…455;
A lot of psychological, moral and physical suffering (lack of
understanding and support, discouragement, disheartenment,
disappointment, sorrow, sadness, deprivation, pain)…458.
What helped De Piro live a charity
until it
hurts.........................................................
PAGEREF ch107 \h 461
Jesus who suffered for him, a
sinner…461;
Jesus at prayer…463.
(xii) De Piro’s charity until it
hurts: not a
need.........................................................
PAGEREF ch110 \h 467
Chapter Five - An existence for a
pro-existence: The incarnational
aspect of De Piro’s
spirituality....................................................................................
PAGEREF ex \h 472
Section I - De
Piro’s
existence....................................................................................
PAGEREF ex1 \h 472
(i) De Piro’s
union with God the
Father......................................................................
PAGEREF ex2 \h 473
(ia)
Experienced through his union with the
Son...................................................... PAGEREF
ex3 \h 474
Incarnate…475,
Suffering…476,
and Eucharistic…477.
(ib)
Experienced through his union with the
Spirit................................................... PAGEREF
ex7 \h 477
(ic)
Experienced through his union with
Mary.........................................................
PAGEREF ex8 \h 478
(id)
Experienced through his union with the
saints.................................................. PAGEREF ex9
\h 479
(ie)
Experienced through his union with the Word of
God....................................... PAGEREF ex10 \h 480
In general…480,
St Paul’s Letters in particular…481,
And the
Password…482.
(if)
Experienced through a continuous search for the divine
will............................ PAGEREF ex14 \h 482
(ig)
Experienced through
prayer...............................................................................
PAGEREF ex15 \h 484
(ii) All the
above helped De
Piro.................................................................................
PAGEREF ex16 \h 489
(iia) Know
himself and accept
himself.......................................................................
PAGEREF know \h 489
(iib) And even
humble
himself....................................................................................
PAGEREF ex17 \h 490
De Piro could have had so much, but he
gave up all…492
Section II - For
a
pro-existence...................................................................................
PAGEREF ex18 \h 497
(i) Hving tried
to know God’s will, for him, De Piro went further;
he did his best
to do
it...................................................................................................
PAGEREF ex19 \h 497
(ii) Through the
cooperation of
others........................................................................
PAGEREF ex20 \h 502
With the help of his mother and other
members of his own family…502;
In unity with his local Ecclesiastical superiors…505;
Through the help of other priests…506;
In conjunction with the Foundress of the Jesus of Nazareth
Institute…509;
De Piro’s collaboration with other priests at St Joseph’s, Malta…509;
In union with the Franciscan Sisters of the Heart of Jesus, the
Sisters of Jesus of Nazareth, the members of his own Society and
Maria Assunta Borg in the ecclesiastical charitable institutions…510;
With the other members of the Maltese National Assembly (1918-1921)
and those of its Central Commission…510;
In conjunction with the members of his Society, those of the Society
of Christian Doctrine (MUSEUM) and with Michael Casolani, for the
evangelisation of the children in Mdina and Rabat, in the
ecclesiastical charitable institutes and in B’Kara…511;
With others in favour of the
evangelisation of the Maltese migrants…511;
The collaboration of others for the evangelisation of those who
lacked the Good News…512.
(iii) And by loving everyone
according to one’s
needs.............................................. PAGEREF ex21 \h
512
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................
PAGEREF con \h 517
Appendices....................................................................................................................
520
1 List
of Biblical references made by De Piro in his
sermons.................................. 521
2 The
references to Pauline Letters made by De Piro in his
sermons..................... 526
3 De Piro’s
humility....................................................................................................
530
4 De
Piro’s contributions to the local and universal
Church and to society in general 535
5 The main and
secondary aims of De Piro’s
Society............................................... PAGEREF a5 \h
537
6 The genesis of the Original Constitutions of De Piro’s Society
(Documentation)......................................................................................................
PAGEREF a6 \h 544
Bibliography..................................................................................................................
PAGEREF bib \h 550
List of Tables
01 The
Maltese population (1842 – 1931)
02 Malta’s
naval commerce (1904, 1914)
03
Education in Malta (5-9 year old children according to the 1903
Census)
04
Education in Malta (10-14 year old children according to the 1903
Census)
05 The
Church’s charitable institutions in Malta (1725 – 1937)
06 The
Gozo population (1807-1931)
07 The
Gozo standard of living (according to the 1861 Census)
08 Table 3
repeated
09 Table 4
repeated
10 The
cost of basic necessities in Malta before the Sette Giugno
1919
11 The
escalation of the wheat price in Malta (1913 – 1918)
12 The
number of references De Piro made to the Pauline Letters
13 The
saints about whom De Piro preached and the number of sermons about
them
14
Catechetical initiatives in Malta (Early 17th century –
1930)
15
Catechism books published in Malta (1752 – 1933)
16
Catechism initiatives in Birkirkara, Malta (1820 – 1909)
17
Important dates related to the Birkirkara Oratory (March 1910 –
April 1927)
18 The
missionary movement worldwide (1800-1932)
19 The
missionary movement in Italy (1815-1931)
20
Missionary activities of some popes and the Vatican (1814-1933)
21 The
number of Maltese diocesan and religious priests, and male
and female religious in the missions (1800-1933)
22 The prayer timetable at St
Joseph’s Institute, Malta
23 References to Pauline Letters
dealing with Christ’s union with humanity
List
of Abbreviations
AAM Archives of the Archbishop of
Malta, Archbishop’s Curia, Floriana
AAS Acta Apostolicae Sedis
AFSHJ Archives of
the Franciscan Sisters of the Heart of Jesus
AMSJN Archives of the Missionary
Sisters of Jersus of Nazareth
APF Archives of Propaganda Fide
APSAV
Archivum Provinciale S. Augustini, Vallettae
CIC Code of Canon Law
COSM Central office of Statistics, Malta
DP Diocesan Process of the Cause of Canonisation
of the Servant of God
DPA De Piro Archives, Agatha’s,
Rabat - Malta
MG Malta Government
ML Malta Lyceum (Hamrun)
MSSP Missionalis Societas Sancti Pauli
PAR Public Archives, Rabat
PDS3 Parliamentary Debates, Senate,
3 Parliament
RML Royal Malta Library
RPA Rabat Parish (Malta) Archives
RRC Report of the Royal Commission
SCCS Sacra Congregatio pro Causis Sanctorum
SSP Societas Sancti Paoli
UMCI Unione Missionaria del Clero in Italia
Acknowledgments
I wish to express my gratitude to the good Lord
for having provided me with another possibility of going deeper into
the life, activity and spirituality of our Founder, the Servant of
God, Joseph De Piro.
My next thanks go to my parents, sisters and
brothers. The family environment has always been for me the place
where I grew up loving the search for truth in all its
manifestations.
A special thanks goes to my brother Fr Paul who
has been of great encouragement to me during this research. In spite
of his many other duties he has always been more than available to
give me excellent advices regarding contents and methodology.
I wish to thank my last Superiors General: Fr
Stanley Tomlin for having supported me as far back as 1980 in
obtaining the Licenciate in Spiritual Theology, especially in my
dissertation about the Founder, when no previous similar research
had been yet carried out; Fr James Bonello for having always
personally and in a particular way supported in the Society anything
academic, like this endeavour, especially matters regarding the
Founder and the Society; Fr Bernard Mangion, the actual Superior
General, who has continuously encouraged this research, conducive to
enhancing our identity.
I wish to thank all the members of the Society,
but in a most particular manner, I am indebted to Fr Martin Galea
mssp, who has always been at hand in the technical setting of this
thesis and Fr Gerard Bonello mssp, the College Rector, for making
all the School’s facilities available for me.
My moderator, Prof. S Gonzalez Silva cmf, I will
always consider as one of my greatest benefactors. When I could not
dedicate myself duly to this thesis because of my other
responsibilities as the General’s Delegate for Malta, as General
Councellor, as Postulator during the Diocesan Process of the Cause
of Canonisation of the Founder, and as Regional Treasurer, Prof.
Silva waited patiently with me for better times. When better
opportunities were available these last year and a half, he
accompanied me along the arduous journey of discovery of one of the
aspects of the spirituality of our Founder by reading, correcting
and suggesting better ways how to present the Servant of God.
Chapter One
The life of the
Servant of God, Joseph De Piro, can be easily divided in two. The
first phase covers the years in between his birth, on 2 November
1877, and the months he spent in Switzerland for his recovery from
illhealth after his being ordained priest in 1902. The second phase
starts with his return to Malta from Switzerland, on 2 March 1904,
and ends up with his death on 17 September 1933.
Section I
This first phase
of the life of Joseph De Piro incorporates his birth, primary,
secondary and university education in Malta, his studies of
philosophy and theology in Rome, ordination to the priesthood and
the eighteen months he spent in Davos, Switzerland, to recuperate
his health. Compared to the second phase, this first part of
Joseph’s life can be considerd as quite hidden.
- De Piro’s birth, childhood and early youth
Joseph De Piro was born on 2
November, 1877
at Mdina, the old city of Malta. His father was the noble Alexander
dei Marchesi De Piro, and his mother, Ursola Agius,
also of noble blood. He was the seventh child of a family of nine.
According to the baptismal certificate Joseph was baptised at the
Metropolitan Cathedral, the day after his birth.
He was brought up in a truly
Catholic family and gradually grew up to be a noble child not only
in his ancestry but also in character. This was confirmed by the
Archbishop of Malta, Mgr Peter Pace in his recommending Joseph for
the Capranica College, Rome:
Il Barone Giuseppe De
Piro mi ha fatto sapere, che suo nipote Giuseppe fin ora secolare
intende abbracciare la carriera ecclesiastica, e stabilire per
continuare gli studi in cotesto collegio che Vra. S. Illma e Revma
degnamente presiede: e quindi mi pregava di raccomandarlo a tale
oggetto a Lei.
Io ben volentieri mi
presto a tale officio, trattandosi di un giovane fornito di tutte le
belle qualità. Egli passò con lodi l’esame di matricola nella Regia
Università, ed ora sta nel corso di scienze ed arti. È poi di
morigerati costumi, ritirato sempre in casa dove non riceve, che
esempi di virtù, essendo la Nobile famiglia De Piro distinta pei
suoi sentimenti di religione e di pietà.
It is very hard to say anything about
Joseph’s early childhood. As one may expect, the only evidence we
can have is from the way the noble families generally reared their
children in those days, and from the interviews we made to people
who lived at Monsignor’s times. These witnesses
gave valuable testimonies. All of them agreed that both parents,
Alexander and Ursola, tried to give their children the best possible
christian formation. The mother considered it her duty to pass on
the basic christian truths to her sons and daughters. Besides this,
the family was often seen going together to the Cathedral, at Mdina,
for the mass, or for some other liturgical celebration. Baroness M.
Trapani Galea, one of the nieces of the Servant of God, had this to
say about the family of her grannies:
My grandma was very
serious and she did not allow confidences. She used to tell us to
keep the friends at the entrance hall only, and not further than
that.
They were very
religious people and as regards this aspect there were no
compromises; what had to be done had to be done, and what had to be
avoided had to be avoided. They were rigid as regards this; even in
the hardest moments of their lives religion was first. They always
said, ‘Fiat voluntas tua.’
The whole family was
consecrated to Our Lady of Pompei. Alberto had done his best to
restore the painting of Our Lady of Pompei in the Jesuit church in
Valletta. He had introduced the devotion and put the painting.
Alberto died when away from home; he felt sick, got out of his
senses and lost a lot of blood. Guido carried him up the stairs and
put him in bed. While sick his mother used to tell him, ‘Albert,
trust in Our Lady and she will help you.’ On his part he told his
mother, ‘Mum it is in her that I trust.’
Their father and
mother insisted a lot on discipline and the conduct of their
children. They preferred to get lower marks in languages, etc., but
not in their conduct. They did not admit any excuse for misconduct.
They attended the
church celebrations and they were very recollected. Everyone of them
had the missal so that each one could follow.
It was the custom among some noble
families to give their children the first schooling at home. In fact
this is what was done even in the case of the De Piro family.
To add to this it was not considered by the De Piros as downgrading
that the children learn some trade or craft. The girls used to be
instructed by the maids and learnt sewing, embroidery, and
lace-making, while the boys learnt carpentry and other similar
trades. Joseph got the tinsmith trade.
Over and above this, several of the testimonies already mentioned
above confirmed that the parents were a strong example of both the
human and moral virtues to the offsprings.
At almost eleven years of age Joseph
began his secondary education at the Malta Lyceum in Valletta.
Fortunately we, members of the missionary Society of St Paul, still
have the many exercise books on which he used to put down the notes
of his lessons. From these same records one can say that De Piro was
very diligent in his work at school.
In the year 1894 he passed the
Matriculation examination and entered the Royal University of Malta.
He studied Arts and Sciences for the first three years. Having
finished this course he started reading Law, and this he did up to
1898, that is for just one year.
-
Member of the Royal Malta
Militia
Schooling was not the only activity
that Joseph was involved in during the early years of his youth.
Soon he joined the local Militia.
It is worth saying that the Maltese were never keen on having their
sons enrolled as soldiers. It was very hard to persuade Maltese
youths to serve
their country by doing this type of
work. To encourage them, the noble families on the Island decided to
send their own sons for some time as members of the military corps.
Joseph, not even fifteen, was one of the youths who did this. In
fact from the registers of the Royal Malta Militia one can know that
he began his term of service on 11 October 1892, and served up to 23
February 1896.
His discharge certificate attests that his conduct and character
were unimpeachable.
On the physical side Joseph at the age of eighteen was 5 feet 7
inches (1.75m) tall, his eyes were bright brown, his hair light
brown and his general features were pleasant.
Without
doubt the military training strengthened the formation Joseph got
from his parents, such as discipline, order, determination,
comradeship, a sense of loyalty ... and a love for his own
country.
-
Member of the
Congregazione degli Onorati
While still at the
University of Malta and at the Royal Malta Militia, Joseph, aged 18,
was accepted, on 20 May 1895, as a member of the Congregazione
degli Onorati.
Mgr Arthur Bonnici
presented this Congregazione among those organisations which
practiced the Marian devotion.
In fact it was the first Marian Congregation in Malta.
It had the Assumption of Our Lady as patroness.
It was set up by the Jesuit Fathers for the Knights of St John of
Jerusalem in 1600. Its original seat was in the Jesuit College or
University, in Valletta, and was later removed to the Oratory
annexed to the same Church.
As time passed by, besides the Knights, there joined the
Congregazione several members of the highest strata of the
Maltese society.
The members met for their weekly devotions and performed acts of
mercy and corporal penances.
- Drawing and
Painting
Since an early age
Joseph showed an artistic inclination.
During his secondary education at the Lyceum he distinguished
himself in drawing for which subject he gained several prizes.
A number of his childhood sketches still survive. His preferred
medium was the pencil and he practiced by sketching details from
such masters as Michelangelo, Raphael and Perugino. In these he paid
particular attention to shading. The sketches were often carefully
signed G. De Piro. Although some of Joseph’s sketches are
undated, they must have been carried out between 1889 and 1898.
A particular
picture, in colour, seems to have been painted for some church or
chapel. Entwined with flowers of all shapes and colours there are
painted the words Indulgentia Plenaria and the picture is
signed in full: De Piro-D’Amico Joseph. Lyceum, 1892.
In 1893 Joseph
took part in a drawing competition organised at the Governor’s
Palace. Joseph was rather late in handing in his drawing and had to
be reminded on the very closing date by Mr. R. Baden Powell, the
secretary of the Governor General. Joseph won first prize and
received the following congratulatory letter:
The Palace
8 Jan. 93
My dear Joseph,
Herewith I send you a little prize for
your beautifully painted Fire Bucket. Yours was by far the best of
the 12 sent in for the competition, and I congratulate you and thank
you for having done it so well.
Yours truly - R. Baden Powell.
Joseph seemed to
have needed pushing to meet competition deadlines. On 4 July 1893, a
certain G. Calleja wrote to him reminding him of a drawing
competition that was to close on the l5 of the same month. Joseph
was to present two portraits which had been sketched at the Lyceum.
Young Joseph also participated in other activities at the Lyceum.
For example, in an extant letter he was reminded by a certain Julia
S. Gatt that he should take part in a tableaux vivants.
- De Piro’s call
to the priesthood
Providence,
however, was planning otherwise; he was going to continue neither
the Law studies, nor his military activity, nor his drawing and
painting. At the age of fourteen, Joseph had already felt
himself drawn to the priesthood.
He shared this with his father. The latter seemed to have considered
him immature for such a responsible decision. Also, Joseph’s health
was giving rise to some concern. Moreover, with his University
studies leading him to a different profession altogether, he must
have undergone anxious moments of goal searching. The legal
profession, he felt, would enable him to help materially the poorer
sections of the population,
but the call for the priesthood remained undiminished within him.
Alexander, his father, tried his best to dissuade him. Jerome De
Piro, a nephew of Monsignor, said this to Br Aloisius Aloisio: “His
father never thought that his son would become a priest. Once Joseph
talked to his father and told him about his wish to become a priest.
His father immediately disapproved…”
Joseph was the
favourite child of the De Piro family. In addition, he was extremely
sociable and he loved company, and he was considered to be a most
eligible bachelor with his good looks and family background.
Jerome De Piro
continued saying that in order to test the sincerity of Joseph’s
vocation, his father “… invited his son to go to Florence to some
friends of theirs. Joseph did this… but when he returned he told his
father that he had not changed his mind about the priesthood: he
wished to become a priest.”
Events were soon to make Joseph’s strong desire possible.
- Death of
Joseph’s father
Early in 1898
Alexander and Ursola went on a trip to Italy. Alexander had a rather
delicate constitution and suffered from poor digestion. On 10
January he was suddenly taken ill in Rome and died soon afterwards,
aged forty-nine.
Reflecting on the sudden death of his father, at the end of the same
year, 1898, Joseph, , wrote to his mother and his brothers and
sisters:
L’altro anno secondo
il nostro modo di vedere, ci è stato sfortunato, dico così perchè
Iddio non opera che perfettamente e le sue azioni non possono essere
altro che ottime; e poi in quella circostanza siamo stati tanto
consolati, che non esito a dire che la nostra consolazione
sopraffece il dolore della sfortuna.
Joseph felt deeply
his father’s loss, but these words seem to indicate that he saw in
it God’s way of levelling his own road. Meditating on death, as a
result of his father’s passing away and the grevious illness of his
brother Berti, Joseph came to the conclusion that he could serve God
by becoming a priest. In the summer of 1897, his confessor had told
him not to give up. Now with his father’s death he could review his
position.
He himself put down into
writing what made him think about his vocation:
RAGIONI PRO
1.
L’aver da fanciullo questa
vocazione fino quasi al quattordicesimo anno.
2.
Non essersi tale vocazione in me
per lungo tempo spenta negli susseguenti di mia vita.
3.
Fino a che non si fece più viva
in me, nel principio dell’ estate passato, quando per primo la
confessai al mio confessore.
4.
La meditazione della morte.
Sento che questo è il vero stato a cui sono vocato.
5.
Il desiderio di darmi tutto a
Dio avendo Egli tanto sofferto pei miei peccati.
6.
Il desiderio di camminare sulla
via della perfezione, e così non temere la morte, anzi considerarla
come il mezzo che ci reca alla vera felicità.
7.
L’aver letto in S. Alphonso de
Liguori che egli era uscito dal mondo a 26 anni, ma sarà beato colui
che ne uscisse prima.
8.
L’aver dopo riflessione trovato
essere questo lo stato più confacente alla mia natura.
9.
La malattia di mio fratello.
10.
La morte di mio padre.
11.
Il sentirmi dover essere felice
in questo stato, in tutte le controversie quali fin ora m’incontraì
in questa vita.
And in fact:
12.
Il giorno 8 Maggio ‘98, dopo una
novena alla V. di Pompei in cui la chiesi di farmi conoscere la vera
volontà di Dio: sentì la forza di decidere pel bene, cioè in favore
allo stato sacerdotale.
He immediately exposed
his ideas to his mother.
Knowing him quite well the latter was not surprised at all at the
sudden news. And being a really Catholic mother, Ursola encouraged
her son to begin without delay his studies of philosophy and
theology.
Coming from a rich noble family, money was not a problem at all.
Therefore it was thought that Joseph should be sent to Rome for his
studies. His father having died, there intervened his uncle who
consulted the Archbishop of Malta, Mgr P. Pace, about the idea.
Joseph De Piro was going to stay at the Capranica College and study
at the Gregorian University. Archbishop Pace even wrote a letter of
recommendation to Cardinal M. Rampolla, the Protector of the
Capranica, and to Mgr G. Coselli, the Rector.
-
Studies of philosphy and
theology in Rome
On 9 July 1898
Joseph collected the certificate of his studies from Malta’s
Director of Education. This document once again attests to Joseph’s
exemplary character:
No 1153
This is to certify that Mr. Joseph De
Piro D’Amico Inguanez, son of the late Noble Alessandro dei Marchesi
De Piro, after passing the Matriculation Examination in 1894 was
admitted as a regular student in the triennial Course of the Faculty
of Arts and Sciences of this University, wherein he studied Latin,
English and Italian Literatures, Intellectual and Moral Philosophy,
Mathematics, Physics and Political Economy.
that after passing
the Annual Examinations in the above subjects before the Special
Council of the above faculty,
he was admitted as a regular student in the Faculty of Laws, wherein
he attended from October 1897 to May 1898 the
courses of Civil,
Natural and Constitutional laws.
And that during the above period his
conduct was very good.
Given under the Seal of the University
of Malta on this 9th day of July in the year of Grace 1898.
N. Tagliaferro
Director of Education.
Joseph’s stay in
Rome is well-documented thanks to the regular correspondence he kept
with his mother.
On her part Ursola treasured and preserved all the letters she
received. These letters provide precious glimpses not only of the
events Joseph passed through, but also of the development of his
character.
Joseph left Malta
by sea on 10 July 1898, bound for Syracuse, accompanied by his
youngest brother, Giovanni Pio. From there they took the train to
Rome, stopping only for a few hours at Messina. They arrived in Rome
two days later and on the 14 Joseph was already writing his first
letter to his mother.
On 13 July, Joseph
went to the Capranica College to meet the Rector, Mgr Coselli, whom
he described as a “Gentleman”.
To the latter he presented his certificates.
While talking to Mgr Coselli he admitted being rather weak in Latin,
whereupon the Rector suggested he should enter the Capranica on 22
August. During this period he was expected to undergo an intensive
course in Latin. Moreover, Mgr Coselli pointed out that this
two-month period would enable him to brush up his philosophy.
In Rome, Joseph
stayed with relatives until he could enter the Capranica. Actually
he did not enter on 22 August as had been suggested: on 24 August he
was writing that he was going to join in about 12 days’ time.
In the meantime,
on 24 July, Cardinal Rampolla had formally granted his approval to
Joseph’s application.
- Worries,
prayers … but even projects
Joseph’s letters
clearly suggest that he was passing through a worrying time. He was
certainly concerned about his mother’s health which he thought could
suffer as a result of her separation from a number of her children:
(24 - 8 - 98)
Borgo Vecchio 170
Carissima mamma,
Stasera, poco fa, ho
ricevuto la tua lettera, la quale mi mise in pensiero sul tuo conto,
poichè dai calcoli che posso fare è già da tempo che ti senti male;
secondo me sarà la fatica dei nostri corredi, ma devi stare attenta
a non affaticarti più di quello che ti è permesso dalle tue forze.
Forse ti sarai inquietata un poco ancora vedendo approssimarsi la
partenza di Gino e Teresina.
Even before he
started his philosophy and theology, Joseph had a number of projects
in mind. Some of these projects were later to be realised.
At the same time Joseph’s health was in turn rousing worries to his
mother who kept insisting he should see a specialist.
On 5 September
1898 Joseph was admitted to the College, joining the philosophy
class.
At that same time he enrolled at the Gregorian University to follow
a course of lectures in philosophy.
Here De Piro dedicated himself
wholeheartedly to his studies and did not lose any time:
Io, grazie a Dio
finora ghadni nferfer (reggo ancora), ho molto da studiare ed
il tempo dello studio mi sembra che sia un poco ristretto. Durante
la giornata non ci è un quarto libero, con sempre in fretta per fare
a tempo alla campana; se ci è un momento di ricreazione siamo tenuti
di farlo insieme e non possiamo andare in camera senza permesso;
perciò questa lettera deve essere breve perchè altrimenti non te la
manderò neanche oggi.
But Joseph had to continue experiencing
the serious problem of ill health. While still in Malta he had first
been taken sick in a rather grave way when he was supposed to sit
for the Matriculation examination.
During the first year at the Capranica it seems that he still had
some trouble. In fact on 5 April 1899 he wrote this to his mother:
Giorni sono ho fatto
vedere la mia gola a Petacci. Localmente mi prescrisse il borato di
soda, che lo applico per mezzo di uno spruzzatore o polverizzatore;
non so come meglio chiamarlo; certi è che il borato è in soluzione,
e poi internamente prendo il (fauler?) a goccie prima del pranzo; in
quanto al bocato mi sembra che qualche effetto ce l’ha; il fauler
(?) poi non so giusto quel che fà; ma spero che mi farà bene; il
termometro dell’appetito segna piuttosto bene, e questo credo che
sia un buon indizio.
Also, while De Piro was in
Malta for his first summer holidays the Rector of the Capranica, Mgr
Coselli, wrote to him referring to the actual good health of the
Servant of God:
Almo Collegio Capranicense
29 Agosto 1899
Mio Carmo De Piro,
Ho ricevuto la sua seconda graditissima
lettera, dalla quale rilevo che godete ottima salute. Faccio voti
affinchè il Signore si degni di rendervela lui che mai galiarda e
salusta, affinchè possiate un giorno lavorare indefessamente nella
mistica vigna del Signore e riportare in essa frutti
abbondantissimi.
The Rector made a similar reference on
7 October of the same year: “Ho ricevuto la vostra carma lettera
dalla quale ho rilevato il vostro ottimo stato di salute.”
Even the following year Mgr Coselli mentioned again De Piro`s
health: “La vostra lettera mi è stata graditissima per le buone
notizie che mi dava della vostra salute.”
All this emphasis on the health of the Servant of God meant nothing
but a lack of it during Joseph’s stay at the Capranica in Rome!
To add to this, on
13 May 1899, Berti, one of Joseph’s brothers, died after a grievous
illness. During Berti’s illness Joseph had tried to fortify his
heartbroken mother. In a letter dated 5 April, he wrote to her: “…
ti debbo dire che il brontolare non è cosa buona; ma il pianto
offerto al Signore per le offese fattegli credo che sia di un merito
immenso; che un cuore afflitto pianga è cosa naturale, e quando
Iddio permette che ciò ci accada facciamo di esso gran tesoro.”
Joseph’s letter of
15 May, infused with the deep sadness of Berti’s death, is one of
his finest:
15 Maggio 1899
A.C.C.
Carissima Mamma,
Il meno che ti possa
consolare tra i fratelli credo che sono io, ma pazienza. Si vede che
Iddio e la Vergine non ci hanno dimenticato poichè ci offrono spesso
circostanze per manifestar sempre più la nostra fiducia in Loro. In
quanto a Berti possiamo ben dire e con ragione che sta meglio di noi
e che si trova in compagnia alle altre buone anime che ci lasciarono
prima di lui…
- Minor Orders
It was during Joseph’s first summer in
Malta, and precisely on 21 September 1899, that he received the
tonsure and the minor orders from the hands of Archbishop Peter
Pace. It was a private ceremony at His Excellency’s Palace, in
Mdina.
Joseph De Piro received the
subdiaconate on 14 February 1901.
With regards to his priestly studies we cannot say that Joseph was
unsuccessful, but at the same time he himself was not so much
satisfied. At the end of the second year of theology he sat for the
baccalaureate examination. Commenting on the results of this same
examination, Joseph said that they were not so much promising:
In fatto di
intelligenza non risplendo. Fin ora ho tirato avanti. Quando il
Signore mi chiamò allo stato ecclesiastico mi trovava al primo anno
di legge all’Università di Malta. Adesso faccio il terzo di Teologia
alla Gregoriana. L’esame per il baccellerato è andato maluccio, da
tre voti ho avuto due col vix; perciò tra quel che è in me ed il
rigore degli esami, la speranza di ulteriori gradi è molto ridotta.
In Diritto Canonico forse ci riesco di più. Siccome nelle mie
communioni una delle prime grazie che chiedo al Signore, è appunto
di farmi conoscere la sua volontà, credo che il rifiuto motivato, mi
sia stato da Lui suggerito.
The third year theology meant
for De Piro his ordinations to the diaconate and priesthood. In fact
he was ordained deacon on 21 December 1901, at the Basilica of St
John Lateran, in Rome, by Cardinal P. Respighi, the Vicar of Rome.
This time was very important
for Fr De Piro not only because he was nearing the priesthood, but
also because he had been thinking seriously about what to do after
being ordained priest. On the one hand he had been wishing to return
to Malta and live at St Joseph’s Orphanage, Santa Venera, together
with other priests, taking care of orphaned boys. This is what he
wrote in his Diary:
1898-1899
In sin dal mio primo anno di Collegio,
ho incominciato a vagheggiare l’idea di ritirarmi nella ‘Casa di San
Guseppe’ del Hamrun ed aiutare il Canonico Bonnici, fondatore della
stessa.
Tornato a Malta, per le vacanze estive
fui alquando sorpreso nel sapere, che il Canonico Bonnici aveva
abbandonato la Casa da lui fondata e che alla sua direzione
trovavasi il Sac. D. Emmanuele Vassallo e D. Giorgo Bugeja.
Durante le stesse vacanze sono stato a
visitare il Vassallo alla Casa di San Giuseppe, ho fatto la sua
conoscenza, gli ho portato i saluti del Collegio essendo egli gia
Capranicese, e strinsi con lui amicizia.
1899 - 1900
Ho continuato a tenere relazioni con D.
Emmanuele e col Bugeja. (1)
As footnote he added these words:
(1) Durante le vaganze estive ho
esternato al Vassallo il mio desiderio di fargli compagnia nella
Casa di S. Giuseppe. Egli (come pure il P. Sammut dal quale sono
stato ad Acireale al Collegio Pennisi) mi consigliò di terminare gli
studi prima di tutto e poi si sarebbe veduto…
On the other hand he had been invited
by the Archbishop of Malta to continue his studies at the “Accademia
Ecclesiastica dei Nobili”, in order to make part of the
diplomatic corps of the Church.
Even the President of the “Accademia” tried to persuade De Piro
to continue the diplomatic studies.
The Servant of God wanted to do only God’s will and therefore,
“Nel breve ritiro
spirituale che si usa a fare al Capranica in principio dell’anno
scolastico, ho messo in esame le ragioni pro e contro per conoscere
se dovessi o no, terminati gli studi, portarmi alla Casa di
S. Giuseppe. Ho deciso, coll’ aiuto del P. Gualandi, per
l’affermativa, previo però il permesso del Vescovo.”
The same exercise
he did three months later:
Durante il ritiro spirituale in
preparazione a ben ricevere l’ordine del Diaconato, incominciato
l’11 Dicembre, 1901, ho messo in esame tutte le ragioni pro o contro
tanto per l’entrata all’Accademia, come pure l’entrata alla Casa di
S. Giuseppe; ed il risultato fu negativo per l’Accademia ed
affermattivo per la Casa di S. Giuseppe.
Here are the exact words of
Deacon Joseph:
ACCADEMIA
RAGIONI PRO
1.
Alcuni di famiglia desiderano
che io andassi, e si son offerti perfino di pagarmi la rata.
2.
Lo stesso Presidente
dell’Accademia si è portato dal Rettore, e gli ha espresso il
desiderio che io andassi.
RAGIONI CONTRA
1.
Perchè all’Accademia, finchè io
sappia, non ci vanno che quelli, i quali possono vantare una
buonanascita.
2.
Perchè all’Accademia, mi si
mette, come a dire, in mostra, per aver qualche posto; mentre è
dottrina certissima che Gesù predilige coloro, qui ament nesciri. E
siccome Egli allorchè determinò di eleggermi per suo ministro seppe
trovarmi tra il numero dei peccatori: così adesso se Egli ha
deliberato di me qualche altra cosa, a fortiori saprà trovarmi nel
numero dei suoi eletti, e non è necessario che io mi metta avanti e
cercar di farmi conoscere coll’andar all’Accademia.
3.
Si recogito peccata mea, non mi
trovo degno che di bastonate; altro che prelature e posti
diplomatici!!! È già infinitamente troppo se arrivo ad essere
sacerdote.
4.
In fatto di intelligenza non
risplendo. Fin ora ho tirato avanti. Quando il Signore mi chiamò
allo stato ecclesiastico mi trovavo al primo anno di legge
all’Università di Malta. Adesso faccio il terzo di Teologia alla
Gregoriana. L’esame per il baccellerato è andato maluccio, da tre
voti ho avuto due col vix; perciò tra quel che è in me ed il rigore
degli esami, la speranza di ulteriori gradi è molto ridotta. In
Diritto Canonico forse ci riesco di più. Siccome nelle mie
communioni una delle prime grazie che chiedo al Signore, è appunto
di farmi conoscere la sua volontà, credo che il rifiuto motivato, mi
sia stato da Lui suggerito.
5.
Perchè mi metto in pericolo di
desiderare posti, cariche ed onori; et qui vult periculum peribit in
illo.
6.
Mentre all’ incontro, col
rifiutare di andare all’Accademia mi son messo al sicuro dal
desiderare e molto più dal domandare posti e cariche onorifici in
diocesi.
7.
Perchè, secondo me, il Signore
ha permesso che io fossi tentato di andare all’Accademia, per
formare la mia fermezza della risoluzione che avea preso, perchè
giorni addietro, quale è quella di portarmi e stabilirmi nella Casa
di San Giuseppe previo il permesso del Vescovo.
8.
Infatti allorchè per mezzo del
mio Rettore, mandaì al Presidente dell’Accademia la negativa,
sperimentaì grande consolazione nel pensare di aver scelto la corona
di spine con Gesù anzichè quella delle rose.
9.
Casa di San Giuseppe.
CASA DI SAN GIUSEPPE.
RAGIONI PRO
1.
Perchè un sentimento interno mi
dice, che Iddio da questo Istituto voglia formare a Malta una
Congregazione di Sacerdoti sotto il Patrocinio di San Paolo; e così
nel rendere stabile l’Opera a Malta si diffonda anche all’estero.
2.
N.B. Questa ragione mi è stata
consigliata di sospederla, e lo faccio ben volentieri.
3.
L’amore di vivere in communità
di persone ecclesiastiche e perciò sento dover essere contento in
compagnia dei due sacerdoti, che già stanno in direzione della Casa
di San Giuseppe.
4.
Il desiderio di far penitenza
pei miei peccati particolarmente per quelli che sono stati di danno
al prossimo.
5.
Perchè stando in famiglia mi
metto in pericolo di attacarmi alle richezze; o che è certo
occuperanno gran parte dei miei pensieri e del mio tempo.
6.
Perchè potrò imitare Gesù più da
vicino.
7.
Perchè troverò pronto il campo
di esercitare il mio ministero.
8.
Perchè mi sarà facile esercitare
la virtù della povertà; quantunque senza voto, ed in qualche modo
anche quello dell’ubbidienza.
9.
Perchè alla morte posso trovare
qualche conforto nel pensiero di aver sofferto un poco per Gesù
avendo Egli tanto sofferto pei miei peccati.
Fr. Joseph was ordained priest
on 15 March 1902, again
in the
Basilica of St John Lateran. In Malta Fr Joseph celebrated
his first solemn Mass on Easter Sunday, 30 March 1902, at the
Cathedral in Mdina. Soon afterwards he returned to Rome to continue
his third year theology.
- The “Accademia
Ecclesiastica” issue put aside
Right from the
beginning of the offer of the “Accademia”, the Servant of God had
showed quite clearly that having been ordained priest his wish was
to return to Malta and do pastoral work there. In fact this is what
he told the rector of the Capranica when the latter told him that
the president of the “Accademia Ecclesiastica” went to the College
inviting young Joseph to go there for the diplomatic studies, “Io ho
risposto che terminati gli studi intendevo tornare in Diocesi ed
esercitare costì il mio ministero, e che perciò non trovavo ragione
di abbandonare il Capranica per recarmi all’Accademia; e così per il
momento la cosa terminò.”
Later on the
Servant of God expressed this opinion to the President of the
“Accademia” directly:
Il vescovo Mgr Pace,
sempre coll’idea di mandarmi all’Accademia mi aveva dato un
biglietto per il Presidente dell’Accademia.
Arrivato a Roma sono
stato dal presidente dell’Accademia col biglietto del Vescovo e gli
ho dichiarato che dovendo tornare in Diocesi terminati gli studi,
non intendevo perciò portarmi all’Accademia, e baciandogli la mano
mi sono concedato dicendogli che avrei scritto al mio Vescovo.
In fact Fr Joseph
wrote to the Archbishop: “… dandogli le mie ragioni per non andare
all’Accademia, dichiarandomi peraltro pronto ad ubbidirlo. Egli però
mi rispose dicendomi che non intendeva forzare la mia volontà.”
Since the
Archbishop did not want to force the “Accademia” on De Piro the
issue was put aside for ever.
- Poor health
Reference has already been made to the
problems of De Piro’s poor health during his studies.
When back in Rome to finish his third year theology, he fell sick
again:
Il 10 Luglio (1902) mi
sono sentito male e per la seconda volta (la prima era il 19 luglio
1900) ho veduto andare in aria tutte le mie buone intenzioni. Fiat!
Il Signore guarda alla buona volontà.
Dichiarato dal medico
affetto di tubercolosi polmonare ...
It was therefore providential
that Archbishop Pace had asked that De Piro should be ordained
priest before the proper date.
Officially De Piro
terminated his course at the Capranica on 23 July 1902.
Of the few comments about him in the College archives we find these
words: “… d’indole mitissima, molto pio, lasciò cara memoria di se.”
- At Davos,
Switzerland
In the letter written on 24
August 1898, that is before his starting his studies in Rome, the
Servant of God shared with his mother his plans for his future
studies:
Secondo i calcoli incalcolabili che ho
fatto; se non morrò probabilmente canterò messa da qui ad altri
quattro anni; poichè più di due anni di filosofia non credo che mi
faranno fare, e poi dopo due anni di teologia credo che mi
lasceranno cantarla. Pregate a S. Tommaso d’Aquino che mi intercede
la grazia di aprirmi un poco la mente, ed allora forse un anno di
filosofia sarà sufficiente, ed allora potremo fare più presto; ho
detto S. Tom: poichè questo è il nostro protettore assegnatoci in
particolar modo da Leone XIII (che non abbiam ancora potuto vedere)
in una delle sue prime encicliche. Il corso di teologia è di quattro
anni e poi quello di diritto canonico è di tre cosichè se ancor ben
faccio l’addizione mi pare che fino a 30 anni trovo da studiare.
This plan was made up of ten
years of study. In fact he did not succeed in finishing even half of
them; he had to miss completely even the fourth year theology at the
Gregorian University. Returning to Malta at the end of July, 1902,
he prepared to go to Switzerland to recover his health there,
“… ho abbandonato gli studi, mi son portato a Malta, da dove dopo
pochi giorni sono partito per la Svizzera per la cura d’aria …”
From a letter sent to him by
his brother Gwido, who was in Louvain, Belgium, studying medicine,
one can conclude that Fr. Joseph was getting better after a short
while.
Fr Joseph
seemed to have been in continuous contact with Gwido; the latter
seemed to have been well informed about Joseph’s health improvement,
“… perciò prima di tutto ti auguro un anno felice e sano e un
subito ritorno a Malta ed in seguito mi gratulo con te della tua
completa guarigione.”
In fact the Servant of God
planned to return to Malta in January 1904.
Yet he left Davos
some time after that and was back in
Malta on 2 March of that same year.
Section
ii
While the first
twenty seven years of De Piro’s life were indeed private, the twenty
years that followed were completely different. In them he was more
than a full time priest, involved in the various ministries of the
local Church. He was the citizen who gave a big share for his
country’s development and well being. He was more than a benefactor
to the many poor children and wretched grown ups of Malta and Gozo.
And God chose him to be the Founder of the Missionary Society of St
Paul.
- Assistant
parishpriest at the Qrendi Parish, Malta
Although at Davos, the Servant of God
was almost completely cured from his illness he had to spend some
time in convalescence even when back in Malta. In fact he went to
Qrendi, a village where the De Piro family had one of its summer
residences.
There Fr. Joseph went for rest, but things turned out to be
different: he was attentive on his health, but at the same time he
was also quite involved in pastoral work. Louis Galea, Joseph
Brincat and Angelo Falzon, three witnesses who were asked to give
their testimony in the Diocesan Process of the Cause of Canonisation
of the Servant of God, said that each day, early in the morning, De
Piro went to the Parish Church for the six o’clock mass.
De Piro had his own confessional in the
aisle of the Church and he used to sit in it hearing confessions
both before and after mass.
Not to mention the many other moments when he did the same thing. He
was so much sought for this ministry that even after leaving the
Parish, he went regularly to Qrendi to offer his service.
Fr De Piro realised that it was
not only the laity who needed help in their growth. Priests had to
continue strengthening that formation which they would have received
in the seminary. A certain Mgr John Baptist Ghigo referred to the
fact that when in Qrendi De Piro had planned an initiative in favour
of the ongoing formation of the priests of the nearby parishes:
After he was ordained
priest and came from abroad, he chose to go and stay in Qrendi,
because he was not feeling well. There he showed his priestly zeal;
he was very active and also was responsible for the Church’s proxy.
He started first by gathering together the priests of the area:
Luqa, Mqabba, Zurrieq, Qrendi and Kirkop, in the Church dedicated to
St John the Evangelist, at Hal Millieri, for sermons given by some
priest.
It was only because Fr Joseph
had to leave the Qrendi Parish that this project was stopped.
The pastoral
contribution of De Piro at Qrendi was strengthened all the
more by his exemplary life. Witnesses
say that De Piro was often seen saying the Breviary in the garden of
the house where he was staying.
When going from some part of the Village to the other he used to
carry a big rosary beads in his hands in order to say this Marian
prayer.
At Qrendi the parishioners are to this day divided in
two parties, one supporting the feast of Our Lady Assumed into
Heaven and the other that of Our Lady of Lourdes. Even at the time
of the Servant of God these two parties were very strong, and
especially at the time of the respective feasts their members used
to cause a lot of trouble to each other. Each party even tried to
involve both the parishpriest and the other clergy of the parish.
Louis Galea testified that De Piro always kept away from these
parties,
“De Piro never got involved in the
parties there are in Qrendi and which existed even in my time. Nor
did they ever involve him. Even the supporters used to say that they
would not approach him for he was a good man and would not be
involved in the parties.”
The witnesses from Qrendi all agreed
about De Piro’s charity. Louis Galea said this,“He was a charitable
priest. Charity was the hallmark of both the Monsignor and his
family. The people in need often asked each other: ‘Have you been to
the De Piros?’”
Joseph Brincat referred to the charity
De Piro lived in Qrendi and even elsewhere, “Mgr De Piro was a
person of great charity. Besides Qrendi, he was involved in many
projects of beneficence and charitable institutions. I hear the
people of Qrendi mention the Monsignor for this charity.”
Angelo Falzon confirmed the above and
said that De Piro was very discreet in his charity,“Monsignor was
very charitable. At that time there were many beggars, none the less
at Qrendi. These used to go a lot to De Piro and he used to help
them. Many a time he helped secretly.”
- Procurator of
the Confraternity of Our Lady of Consolation, Qrendi
On 20 September 1909 Fr Alphonse
Tabone, parishpriest of Qrendi, wrote to the Archbishop of Malta,
Mgr Peter Pace, telling him that on 18 April 1909 Fr Joseph De Piro
was nominated and elected procurator of the Confraternity of Our
Lady of Consolation.
Tabone also asked the Archbishop to confirm the Servant of God
in this responsibility.
His Excellency sent his approval on 23 November 1909.
- Sindaco
Apostolico of the Franciscan Minors Convent, Rabat, Malta
Wherever they were
and since the beginning of their existence until a few years ago the
Franciscan Minor Friars were not allowed to administer their own
mobile or immobile property. Instead, they nominated what they
called the Sindaco Apostolico. This person, who did not make
part of the Franciscan community , province or Order, was always a
well off person, and at the same time was a trustworthy individual.
He had the duty to administer all types of property and was also
expected to keep in order all the documents related to the same.
Every month he had to give any money needed by the entity he
represented, and he had to give a monthly report of his
administration to the sostituto sindaco apostolico.
Mgr Joseph De Piro
was one of the sindaci apostolici of the Franciscan Minors
community in Rabat, Malta. It was not possible for me to find out
exactly when he started and when he ended up this minsitry. All I
can say is that in the De Piro Archives there were found three
letters related to this service; the first one is dated 21 August
1906 and the last one 22 February 1907.
- Canon of the
Metropolitan Chapter
If one were
to make reference to the above mentioned ‘Reasons in favour and
against’ which De Piro
put in writing in relation to his going to the “Accademia
Ecclesiastica” or St Joseph’s Institute, one finds amongst others
these words against his going to the “Accademia”:
1.
Perchè all’Accademia, finchè io
sappia, non ci vanno che quelli, i quali possono vantare una buona
nascita.
2.
Perchè all’Accademia, mi si
mette, come a dire, in mostra, per aver qualche posto; mentre è
dottrina certissima che Gesù predilige coloro, qui ament nesciri.
E siccome Egli allorchè determinò di eleggermi per suo ministro
seppe trovarmi tra il numero dei peccatori: cosi` adesso se Egli ha
deliberato di me qualche altra cosa, a fortiori saprà trovarmi nel
numero dei suoi eletti, e non è necessario che io mi metta avanti
e cercar di farmi conoscere coll’andar all’Accademia.
This reference can
be considered as a clear sign of De Piro’s humility. He was only
twentyfour years when he wrote these words, but he kept to this
frame of mind all his life. In fact he showed this very attitude
when he found out that he was going to be made canon of the Mdina
Cathedral.
As every other
mother, Ursola De Piro wished her children to achieve success in
life. In October 1910 she approached Fr Michaelangelo Pace,
secretary to the Archbishop of Malta, and asked his help on her
behalf, so that her son Joseph might be appointed canon of the
Cathedral.
At that time the Servant of God was barely 33 years old, and only a
few years had passed since his priestly ordination. Fr Michaelangelo
knew only too well how zealous and exemplary Joseph De Piro was, and
courteously promised Ursola De Piro to do all he could to help her
realise her desire.
Fr Michaelangelo
kept his promise. At that time the Dean of the Cathedral, Mgr
Vincent Vassallo, who was 73 years old, had been unwell for months.
The Archbishop’s secretary thought it was opportune to advise His
Excellency to persuade the Dean to ask for a Coadjutor in the person
of Fr Joseph De Piro.
The latter was unaware of these designs when the Archbishop made the
proposal to the Dean on 6 November, 1910. The appointment would be
an important choice, for the dean was subject only to the archdeacon
of the Chapter.
On 7 November Fr
Michaelangelo gave De Piro the news, and he was the first to
congratulate him, adding that his new assignment was still strictly
confidential, as the appointment was not yet official:
C.
Balzan
7 Nov 1910
Molto Revdo Signore,
Ho l’alto onore in
piacere di dirle sotto sigillo di confessione che Sua Eccza Revma
Mgr Vescovo è stato ieri da Mgr Canco Decano della Cattedrale a
proporre V.S. Molto Revda per suo Coadiutore ed è già tutto
combinato ciò servirà per di lei norma. Tanti sinceri auguri.
Intanto con sensi di
perfetta stima rinnovo i miei auguri qual sono.
Di Lei
Devmo Servo ed Amico
Sac: Angelo Pace,
Cappellano.
Meanwhile Fr
Joseph discovered that his mother had been behind the whole plot,
and frankly and humbly told her he did not approve of it:
Mother, you know I have always obeyed you, but I beg you not to
speak to the Archbishop about me, asking him to grant me these high
Church dignities. I wish to remain a priest without any honours; for
me the priesthood is the highest honour. If you wish me to be a
Monsignor at the Cathedral, I am sorry I cannot obey you.
On 11 November, De
Piro wrote to Fr Michaelangelo the following words,
I
beg you to present my thanks to the Archbishop for wanting to
promote me to these high honours. Please do me the favour of
informing the Archbishop that the honours offered are not suitable
for me due to the work I have started, and I do not have to mention
any other reason. It is impossible for me to accept.
Despite the secrecy entailed, the plan
had by now developed in a more concrete way. The Dean of the
Cathedral surprised De Piro with a visit on January 1911, and De
Piro was informed that all had been definitely concluded. The one
formality still required was the approval of the Governor of Malta,
Sir Leslie Rundle. This last step had already been made privately,
and although the official letter had not been written, De Piro knew
that the Governor had approved his appointment.
De Piro was firm
in the resolutions made ten years before. He courteously thanked
Monsignor Dean for having thought of him, but his conscience forbade
him to accept this appointment. He explained in detail to the
Archbishop adding that he felt unworthy and not capable of
undertaking the duties of the office offered him. De Piro feared the
precedent he might be creating for the members of his Society. He
explained to the Archbishop he did not wish his spiritual sons to
aspire to worldly honours. Should he accept to be Dean of the
Cathedral, how would he have the courage to present himself to his
young members, and persuade them to shun worldly honours?
Eccellenza
Reverendissima,
Giorni sono è stato da
me Monsignor Decano per informarmi che riguardo l’affare della
Coadiutoria tutto era sistemato, che la mia nomina era stata già
raccomandata da V.E. e che il Governatore era già pronto a mandare
fuori il ‘Warrant’. Tutto ciò mi ha confuso non poco, però nel
ringraziare Monsignor Decano non ho esitato a dichiarargli che in
conscienza non potevo accettare e che qualora V.E. avesse insistito
avrei solo ceduto di fronte ad un ordine preciso di obbidienza.
Ora oltre la mia
indegnità ed incapacità umilmente sottopongo alla prudente ed
illuminata considerazione di V.E. che l’occupare simili posti
onorifici, come appunto sono i canonicati della Cattedrale è contro
lo spirito del Nouvo Piccolo Istituto per le missioni Estere, e che
io dovessi accettare la nomina propostami mi sarebbe difficile
l’insinuare ai membri dell’Istituto il distacco da simili onori.
Pertanto spero che
V.E., veduta la ragionevolezza del mio riferito, non insisterò. In
ogni modo lascio alla coscienza di V.E. tutta la responsabilita`
della mia.
Da ultimo al bacio del
Sacro Anello umilmente Le chiedo la Benedizione ed ho l’onore di
dichiararmi.
Dell’E V Revma
Umilmo ed Ubbmo Servo
Sac Giuseppe De Piro
17 gennaio 1911
Notabile.
De Piro confided
in his Archbishop, but in his authentic spirituality he was fully
aware that obedience to his Superiors was more important than the
practice of humility. He still hoped to evade the assignment and he
wrote to his Archbishop. Thus he made the last effort to decline,
but placed himself in the hands of his Archbishop, ready to obey his
orders. Two days later, on l9 January 1911, the Archbishop replied
on the same letter De Piro had written:
Valletta
19 gennaio 1911
D. Giuseppe,
V.S. non ha mai
cercato ne posti , ne promozioni. Prenda quindi dalle mani di Dio la
proposta, e l’accetti per mia obbedienza. Al resto penserà il
Signore, il quale come ha cominciato l’opera non la … perfezionarla.
Intanto … La benedico,
mentre …di …benevolenza ne raffirmo
Di Lei D.Giuseppe …
P.Archiv. Vescovo.
At this time De Piro’s mother developed
a guilt complex about it, and she told the Archbishop that her son
was not ready to accept the dignity of Monsignor. But the Archbishop
was firm in his decision, knowing that the Servant of God was most
suited to the position he would occupy.
De Piro bowed his head to the wishes of
the Archbishop, knowing these manifested the will of God, and waited
for the necessary formalities to be concluded. The Governor, Sir
Leslie Rundle, on 25 February 1911, officially informed the
Archbishop that due to the age and ill-health of the Dean, Mgr
Vincenzo Vassallo, it was necessary for him to be aided by a
Coadjutor. He also added that he, the Governor, was presenting the
Servant of God as Coadjutor to the Dean with right of succession.
On 11 March 1911 Rundle wrote to De Piro and told him more or less
what he had told the Archbishop.
The application to the Archbishop by De Piro followed.
On the same day Mgr Vassallo was informed of the acceptance of De
Piro and the warrant was granted. Mgr Vassallo received the
information from the Office of the Crown Advocate, Dr. V. Frendo
Azzopardi.
Before the issue of the relative decree from Rome, Mgr Paul Gauci,
General Secretary at the Archbishop’s Curia, informed De Piro that
he had been accepted by the Concistorial Congregation as Coadjutor
to the Dean.
By decree of Pope Pius X, Fr Joseph was to enjoy by right whatever
concerned the Dean’s office, to represent him and fulfil his
relative duties.
From then on, much against his inmost desire, De Piro was addressed
as Monsignor Joseph De Piro.
For many the title
of Monsignor meant prestige and honour. For De Piro it signified
much more than that. First of all the canons of the Cathedral had
their liturgical duties at the Cathedral: the Conventual Mass, the
singing of the Lauds, Hours and Vespers and the celebration of
feasts, which at that time were not that infrequent.
Also, De Piro’s times were those when the Cathedral Chapter was for
the Archbishop what is nowadays the Presbyterial Council, His
Excellency’s consultative body, his senate and council.
Although in 1911 the Servant of God was not yet loaded with the many
responsibilities he had to carry in the coming years, the liturgical
duties and the Chapter meetings were still a big burden for him.
- Effective Member of the
General Committee of the XXIV International Eucharistic Congress
(1913)
A dar principio ai
lavori Mgr Arcivescovo nominò un Comitato Generale, in cui oltre
l’intero Capitolo della Diocesi, figuravano distinte persone, scelte
dalle classi diverse della popolazione. Un altro Comitato era
composto di Signori, oltre varie sotto comitati ai quali vennero
deferiti speciali incarichi …
The words above
refer to the nominations of the members of the committees which
organised the International Eucharistic Congress held in Malta in
1913. The main committee had the President, the Effective Vice
Presidents and the Effetive
Members.
De Piro was among the last group. The Servant of God was chosen
because he made part of the Capitular Chapter of the Cathedral. He
was also chosen because he was the Director of Fra Diegu Institute,
Hamrun.
Without doubt the
Servant of God participated in the celebrations which were held
during this International Eucharistic Congress,
but I was not able to find out what was the paticular contribution
of De Piro during these days. From a letter written to De Piro by
Mgr Alphonse Carinci, Rector of the Capranica and assistant of the
Cardinal Legate of the Pope, Dominic Ferrata, we know that De Piro
was involved in the arrangements for the Legate to celebrate a
pontifical mass at the Cathedral in Mdina.
From this same letter we know that the Servant of God had invited
the Cardinal Legate to the De Piro family Palace in Mdina,
an invitation we know that the Cardinal accepted.
- Co-rector of
the Manresa Retreat House, Floriana, Malta
This House, in
Floriana, Malta, had also a church and both of them were dedicated
to the Blessed Virgin Mary of Manresa. It was also known as St
Calcedonius House. It was mainly used for the retreats of the
secular and regular clergy. De Piro was chosen, on 5 May 1913, by
the Archbishop, together with Canon Aloisius Attard as co - rector
of this House.
The two priests seemed to be responsible for all the aspects of this
House. Besides the day to day running they seem to have been the
administrators even of the property related to it.
- Director of
the Associazione Sacerdoti Adoratori
This Association
seems to have been founded in Turin, Italy. In Malta there was one
of its branches. When Fr Joseph Borg, the director of the Malta
branch, died, Archbishop Peter Pace, on 16 August 1913, nominated
Mgr Joseph De Piro for the post
and “…pro bono regimine et augmento eiusdem Piae Associationis inter
Prebyteros huius Meliten Diocesis…”
According to the programme of the Parrochial Eucharistic Congress
held in Rabat, Malta, between 11 and 18 June 1933, the Servant of
God was still the director of this Sodality until that year.
- Secretary of
Archbishop Mauro Caruana
If one were to go to the Archives of
the Archbishop’s Curia and get the section where there is preserved
the correspondence to and from Archbishop Mauro Caruana one would
notice that the very first letter of His Excellency, dated 3 March
1915, was addressed to the Governor General, Field Marshal Lord
Methuen. But for those who study De Piro it is all the more
interesting because after mentioning the choice of Bishop Angelo
Portelli as his Vicar General, Caruana also informed the Governor
that he had chosen Mgr Joseph De Piro as his Secretary. The decree
of nomination was written on 2 March 1915.
This three year
(1915-1918) contribution of De Piro to the Archdiocese may be
considered by many as rather insignificant. There was no room for
Monsignor to practice his creativity and energy. It may be so, but
it is as much true that this was an occasion where the Servant of
God could show his precision at work: he was very quick in answering
all correspondence which came to his desk.
During these three years he also showed his dedication to the
Archbishop. But this period was particularly important for De Piro’s
contact with the Maltese who had migrated to other countries and
with the priests who were working among them.
It was before the 1915-1918 years that Monsignor first thought about
the Maltese emigrants,
but the letters he received as His Excellency’s Secretary made De
Piro more conscious of the urgent situation of his conationals
living abroad. The Servant of God did his best to find some other
diocesan or religious priest to go with the migrants.
- Member of the
Commission for the formation of young priests
It has already
been said that at the time spent in Qrendi, Fr Joseph had planned a
project for the formation of priests in the nearby parishes.
During the time as secretary to the Archbishop, De Piro was involved
in another initiative in favour of the formation of the clergy. His
Excellency Mauro Caruana was noticing that, being the years after
the First World War, Malta was in a state of unsettlement and
therefore the newly ordained priests were meeting difficulties when
from the Seminary they were finding themselves in the pastoral
activities. To help these young priests, the Archbishop set up a
Commission made up of several more experienced presbyters:
D. MAURO CARUANA
DELL’ORDINE DI S. BENEDETTO
PER GRAZIA DI DIO E DELLA S. SEDE
APOSTOLICA
ARCIVESCOVO DI RODI VESCOVO DI MALTA
ALLA MEDESIMA S. SEDE IMMEDIATAMENTE
SOGGETTO
Impensieriti in sull’inizio del nostro
pastorale ministero intorno all’obbligo grave, che ci incombe, di
santificare questo gregge, della Divina Provvidenza affidato alle
nostre cure e di mantenere saldo nella mente e nel cuore dello
stesso il regno di Gesu` Cristo, fondato dall’Apostolo San Paolo,
crediamo proprio di rivolgere l’opera nostra a favore del Clero.
Niente infatti, come
leggiamo nel S. Concilio di Trento, è tanto necessario alla santità
dei Fedeli quanto la santità del Clero “Nihil est quod alios magis
ad pietatem et Dei cultum assidue instruat quam eorum vita et
exemplum, qui se divino ministerio dedicaverunt: quum enim a rebus
saeculi in altiorem sublati locum conspiciantur, in eos tamquam in
speculum reliqui oculus coniiciant, ex iisque sumunt quod imitentur.
Sess. XXII Cap. I De Reform.
Ci gode l’animo
rilevare che per la sollecitudine dei nostri Predecessori la Diocesi
è ben provvista di due seminari, per i grandi l’uno e l’altro per i
piccoli. Ed entro le sacre mura di questi due istituti i chiamati
nella sorte del Signore, sotto una vigilante osservanza ed
un’accurata disciplina, vengono insin dai primi anni educati nella
scienza e nella pietà, e così imparano a praticare quella santità di
vita che li rende sale della terra e luce del mondo.
In verità ciò che
maggiormente ci preoccupa ed accresce le nostre ansie, non è già il
giovane ecclesiastico, finchè perdura la sua dimora in seminario, ma
egli è il novello Levita, il quale per aver compito gli anni di
Seminario, trovasi costretto, ancor fresco dell’ordinazione, di
lanciarsi in mezzo ai pericoli del mondo. Ed è perciò che noi ci
determiniamo di nominare una Commissione composta da sacerdoti
esperti ed esemplari, la quale vada studiando i mezzi per venire in
aiuto, difendere ed indirizzare nella vita pubblica i giovani
sacerdoti particolarmente alla loro prima uscita di Seminario.
Nel ritenere a Noi la
Presidenza, ci è grato affermare che molte sono le persone
appartenenti al Nostro Clero e che potrebbero aver parte in questa
Commissione; però pel presente abbiamo creduto di formarla come
segue…
Noi intanto sostenuti
dall’aiuto di Dio e fiduciosi nella protezione della Beata Vergine e
dell’ Apostolo San Paolo ci sentiamo pieni di speranza, che l’opera
di una tale Commissione abbia un esito felice e sia coronata da un
buon successo, di retta com’è tutta quanta al bene di questa Nostra
cara Diocesi.
+ Mauro Arciv. Vesc.
di Malta
Dato dal nostro
Palazzo di Notabile nel giorno dei SS. Apostoli Pietro e Paolo,
1915.
Mgr Joseph De Piro
was first in the list of the members of the Commission.
- Deputy
of the Commission for the temporary administration of the Major
Seminary, Mdina, Malta
On 5 July 1916
Archbishop Mauro Caruana nominated Mgr Joseph De Piro deputy in the
Commission for the temporal administration of the Seminary.
As its own name indicates this Commission was responsible for the
temporal aspect of the life of the Seminary.
- Rector of the
Major Seminary, Mdina, Malta
It was because he was going to
be entrusted with another responsibility that De Piro’s services as
secretary to the Archbishop came to an end. On 30 September 1918
Archbishop Mauro Caruana nominated De Piro, Rector of the Major
Seminary, at Mdina:
D.MAURUS CARUANA
ORDINIS S.BENEDICTI
Dei et Apostolicae
Sedis gratia
Archiepiscopus
Rhodiensis Episcopus Melitensis
EIDEM SANCTAE SEDI
IMMEDIATE SUBJECTUS
Nos perfecte noscentes
doctrinam qua polles, probitatem morum, plurimaque merita in hanc
Nostram Dioecesim praesertim illud muneris et officii Nostri a
Secretis Generalis, quod usque nunc gessisti non tantum cum Nostra
satisfactione ac probationem, sed etiam omnium qui opera tua hos in
munere usi sunt, Te, Illum. et Revmum. Dnum. Josephum e Marchionibus
De Piro Navarra Can. Decanum Coadiutorem Nostrae S. Cathedralis
Ecclesiae eligimus et nominamus in Rectorem Nostri Ven. Magni
Seminarii a S.Paulo Apostolo Civitatis Notabilis, cum omnibus
juribus, honoribus et facultatibus huic muneri et officio adnexis.
Datum ex Pal. Archiep.
Civ. Vallettae dic 30 Septembris 1918
+Maurus O.S.B.
Archiep. Epies Melit.
Aloisius Can Theol
Attard
Vicisgerens a.
Sec.Gen.
Among the
persons interviewed by Aloisius Aloisio there was Fr George Cassar,
a priest who had been a seminarian during De Piro’s rectorship. This
Cassar emphasised the humanity with which Monsignor behaved when
relating with the seminarians:
He was never angry at us, but he always
admonished us with kindness. Before correcting us he always laughed.
When you asked him for something he always gave it to you
immediately…When the examinations were near we preferred to go to
John Mary’s field, under Saqqajja Hill, instead of going for walks.
We enjoyed staying under the shade of the trees to study and at the
same time to enjoy the fresh air. Once there was John Mary, the
farmer, who had wicker baskets full of fruits which he had just
picked up. Gently he encouraged us to take as much as we wanted. In
a split of a second we dismantled him of all the fruit. All we left
him with was one wicker basket. You can imagine how angry was the
poor farmer. As soon as we returned to the Seminary we found John
Mary talking to the Rector. We were shocked. As soon as the Rector
saw us he told us, ‘Can you come here, you gentlemen! John Mary has
just told me what you have done after he has been so kind to you.
What are we going to do now?’ One of us stood up and said, ‘We will
all offer some money to make up for the fruit taken.’ ‘No, no. go
away. I will try to fix everything myself,’ said the Rector. When
later I went to the Rector’s room, he asked me, ‘Can you tell me
what had happened to John Mary?’ When I explained to him what had
happened he really laughed heartily and could not stop. I curiously
asked him, ‘How did it end up with him?’ ‘We have fixed everything.
I know him well,’ answered the Rector. The day after they all agreed
to go back there and there was John Mary as well. ‘May we take
fruit?’ we asked him. ‘Take as much as you want, because I made a
very good deal with the Rector,’ answered John Mary. ‘Why?’ we asked
him. ‘He gave me double the price of the fruit,’ answered John Mary.
Also:
The seminarians,
especially the acolytes, when at the altar service, used to drip the
candles at the stairs of the altar before going out. One of the
senior Monsignori, Louis Camilleri by name, noticed this and
grumbled a lot about it. Once, while he visited the Seminary, he
found the Rector admonishing us about something we had done. ‘Well,’
said Mgr Camilleri, ‘Once we are here I need to tell you what I
observed them doing.’ The Rector answered him in a laughing manner,
‘I side with them in this matter.’ ‘Why?’ asked Camilleri. ‘Because
they are wise in caring for their cassock,’ answered the Rector. ‘It
is quite expensive and the seminarian of course should not spend a
lot of money. They have to wear the cassock especially when they go
to St John’s Co Cathedral. And you know that a cassock costs a lot
of money.’
Again:
Mgr Antonio Galea, ex provost of St
Philip at Senglea, was the Vice Rector of the seminary at the time
of De Piro. After the story of the fjakkoli we met De Piro and told
him what happened. He really laughed at it. “He is rich,” he told
us, “He has a lot.”
He was never angry at us. He used to be
sad but he never expressed what he felt in any way or other. He used
to admonish us but he was never angry at us; he always corrected us
in a loving way.”
Cassar referred
also to the spirituality of the Rector:
I was the sacristan at
the Seminary, and as sacristan I went often to the Rector. Often,
when I went to the Rector’s room I frequently found him saying the
Rosary or meditating. Sometimes he used to signal me not to speak to
him and disturb him. He used to ask me to be there later. He always
carried the rosary in his hand. He loved using the white Rosary.
And there was
mention of the special devotion of the Servant of God to St Joseph:
Once I entered the Rector’s room and
noticed that St Joseph’s picture was put in the opposite position,
facing the wall. Everytime I went there I found it in the same
position and I wanted to know why the picture was facing the wall.
In fact I asked the Rector, ‘Why is the picture facing the wall?’
‘It is like that as a punishment,’ answered De Piro. ‘St Joseph,
punished?’ asked I. ‘What did he do?’ ‘He will remain like that
until he grants me the grace I have been praying for,’ replied the
Rector. And when the grace would be granted, St Joseph would have
his punishment ended and would be facing the outside as usual.
But special reference must be
made to an eleven page report which the Servant of God prepared
before terminating his office of rector and which he sent to the
Archbishop on 27 August 1920. Apart from the fact that he had to
spend much time in preparing it, it shows quite clearly that
Monsignor was very much informed about the many aspects of the
Seminary.
And this at a time when he was already busy with other duties.
- Member of the
Camera Pontificia Maltese
On 23 May 1920, the secretary
of this Camera wrote to Mgr De Piro telling him that the day before
its members met and unanimously agreed to choose him as an effective
member.
- Dean of the
Metropolitan Chapter, Malta
At the Cathedral there was a fixed
number of Canons
and it was only when there was a vacancy that one was nominated for
that post.
In the case of De Piro it was Mgr Vincent Vassallo who was to be
replaced. But the latter was also the Dean of the Metropolitan
Chapter. This meant that the Servant of God was to take sooner or
later Vassallo’s place even in this latter responsibility.
In fact the ceremony of the conferment of the deanery was celebrated
at the Cathedral, Mdina, Malta, on 24 November 1920.
Again, the deanery might have been
considered as an honour to look for. But it was not in fact only
this. As regards the liturgical celebrations the Dean had all the
duties as the other canons.
Besides these, he had to preside over all Chapter meetings. Here one
must remember that the Chapter was in those days what the
Presbyterial Council is nowadays for the Archbishop.
Therefore the canons had to meet frequently to discuss many matters
of importance. Besides the Chapter sessions themselves the members
were expected to do even their homework! As dean, Mgr De Piro had to
lead delegations to the Archbishop. Since the Chapter was the
consultative body to the Archbishop, these delegations were quite
frequent. Furthermore, because the relations between Church and
State were wider in De Piro’s times there were more occasions when
there was need of some delegation from the side of the Church to go
to the government. And Mgr De Piro was supposed to head these
delegations.
- Acting
parishpriest of the Gudia Parish, Malta
The Servant of God was not destined to
spend his life working in a parish. After his stay at Qrendi,
Archbishop Pace entrusted him with another completely different duty
in the Archdiocese, for which he had to leave the Parish. At the
same time in 1922 De Piro was asked to give, for a short while, a
helping hand in another parish, this time the Gudia one.
It happened that in this village the
parishioners were divided in two, one group supporting the main
feast while the other favoured the secondary one.
These two parties had been in trouble for a rather long time, but in
the year 1922 the conflict reached its climax, so much so that the
parish priest abandoned the place and the church was closed on
weekdays.
The Archbishop did his best to find someone to take over, but
knowing the situation no one dared to
do it.
After one month, the Archbishop thought of De Piro as a temporary
solution; on 11 July 1922 His Excellency chose De Piro as his
special delegate for the administration of the Gudja Parish.
Monsignor was again ready to obey. In spite of the adverse situation
in the parish and the many other duties already at his back, De Piro
went immediately and succeeded in getting peace among the
parishoners. So much so that those parishioners who had been so
angry for the members of the other party, for the Archbishop’s Curia
and for the Archbishop himself, wrote to the latter a very
reconciliatory letter:
18 Sda Sta Maria
Gudia
19 Luglio 1922
Eccza. Revma.,
Noi qui sotto firmati a nome di tutti i
nostri compaesani, ma in specie di quelli che furono citati dinanzi
alla Corte per causa dell’ incidente occorso nell’ ultima festa e
che sfortunamente fu causa di tanti dispiaceri. La ringraziamo di
tutto cuore, per la Tua grande bontà nell’ aver interceduto presso
il Governo per la sospensione della causa già in corso, e così
liberato i nostri fratelli da ulteriori incomodi e dispiaceri; per
la qualcosa ci sentiamo spinti non solo a ripetere i nostri
ringraziamenti ma più ancora a protestarci assai dolenti per l’
accaduto e promettiamo di fare tutto il nostro possibile ad evitare
in avvenire qualunque occasione che possa condurci a tali eccessi
non solo ma ancora cercheremo di distogliere gli altri nel caso vi
saranno, e tener sempre la pace, e così con l’ aiuto del Buon Dio e
della Sua amatissima Madre Assunta in Cielo possiamo in avvenire
vivere in pace come veri fratelli aiutandosi e amandosi
vicendevolmente.
Protestandoci come
veri suoi figli in Gesù Cristo ringraziandolo nuovamente e chiedendo
la Sua paterna benedizione ci dichiariamo sempre pronti ad obbedire.
Firmati:-
Giuseppe Cutajar
Giuseppe Spiteri
Angelo Pace.
After a few weeks in Gudia De
Piro could leave the Parish and let the newly appointed parishpriest
take over.
- Cooperator in the
foundation and growth of Maltese religious congregations
-
The Daughters of the Sacred Heart
On 31 December
1919 the Daughters of the Sacred Heart, founded in Malta by Maria
Teresa Nuzzo in 1903, invited Mgr De Piro to help them with his
reflections about the last day of the year.
Although for its days of reflection a religious community generally
invited preachers who knew its members well, in itself this
invitation did not necessarily mean that the Servant of God had been
in any way close to these Sisters. Another sermon shows the
closeness of De Piro to these Sisters all the more; on 11 June 1920,
the Daughters of the Sacred Heart invited Monsignor for their
renewal of vows.
Again, the celebrant invited for such an occasion was usually a one
who was close to the community! But the document that proves that De
Piro was a real help to these Sisters is a letter written by a
certain Mother Nazzarena Gouder, a Franciscan Sister who had been
chosen by the Archbishop of Malta as superior of the Daughters of
the Sacred Heart:
Istituto Nuzzo
Hamrun
5 Agosto 1918
Revmo Padre,
Veniamo or’ ora dal manicomio dove ci
siam recate a mettere Suor Matilde. La Madre Rosalia che mi
accompagnò in questa facenda, Le faccia sapere tutte le
particolarità; io solamento mi limito a ringraziare prima il Buon
Dio che diede a V.Illma e Revma. S. un cuore dotato di tutte le
virtù e doni richiesti per aiutare il poverello e trarlo dai suoi
impicci, cosa che raramente si trova nelle persone del suo rango;
poi ringrazio lo stesso misericordioso Signore che mi fece la grazia
di farmi incontrare V.S. Rma. e godere delle sue beneficenze; indi,
piena di alta riconoscenza, mi rivolgo a Lei Padre Dilettmo e Le
dico che io mi serberò grata in eterno, per tutto quello che Ella ha
fatto per guidarmi nella retta via della santità e della società. Il
Signore la ricompensi in questa e nell’altra vita, ed io nella mia
miseria mi offro a qualunque Suo servizio.
Raccomando tutto l’Istituto al favore
della Sua preghiera mentre che con distinta Stima Le bacio la sacra
destra, e mi pregio di poter segnarmi,
Di V.S. Illma e Revma,
Umlma figlia in
Cristo
Sr. M. Nazarena.
These words of
Mother Nazzarena were not to be said to someone who had not already
helped a lot these Sisters!
-
The Franciscan Sisters of the Heart of Jesus
Further on in this chapter I shall be
saying that in 1907 the Servant of God was nominated by the
Archbishop of Malta, Mgr Peter Pace, as Director of Fra Diegu
Institute, Hamrun. When he started his ministry there, De Piro found
the Franciscan Sisters of the Heart of Jesus as those responsible
for the day to day running of the Orphanage. Because of the
relationship that grew up between the Director and these nuns, and
because these religious had only been founded in Gozo in 1880,
De Piro involved himself even in the development of the Sisters’
Congregation. So much so that some Franciscan Sisters wrote several
letters to the Servant of God.
On 23 December 1916, Madre Nazzarena
Gouder, Superior General from 1911 to 1917,
wrote to Monsignor:
Quest anno piu che mai, mi incombe il
dovere di prevalermi della presente circostanza della festa
Natalizia per ringraziarla di tanti favori e benefici che
continuamente sparge su di noi, povere figlie di San Francesco,
colla Sua solerte cura spirituale e temporale.
Padre, l’interesse che, contro ogni
nostro merito, V.S. Rma nutre per il progresso della nostra
Congregazione oggimai si sente, si conosce e si dichiara da ogniuno
dei suoi membri. La medesima, per quanto misera e povera essa sia,
per la grazia di Dio, ha sempre trovato chi la benefica, chi la
protegge; ma oggi tra tante calamità e tristezze, il Signore, nella
Sua infinita misericordia, ci ha mandato l’aiuto di V.S. Illma e
Revma a poter scivare i pericoli e progredire nella virtù e nel
lavoro; e perciò, caro Padre, nel magnificare e ringraziare il
Signore per tanta Sua bontà e providenza, ringraziamo pure V.C. per
tutto quel bene che a favor nostro abbia operato.
Però, per quanto viva
sentiamone la riconoscenza, pur non di meno non possiamo mai
compensare V.S.Rma, e qualunque cosa noi facciamo non ci sarà maì
possibile di sdebitarci…
Three months later
the same Mother Nazzarena wrote to De Piro again, and again referred
to the support he offered to her Congregation, “Nel presentarle pure
i nostri ringraziamenti, per tutto quello che Ella opera a vantaggio
della nostra Congregazione… Gradisca, caro Padre, i nostri sinceri
affetti e distinti ossequi e ci benedica.”
It is interesting
to note that in the above two letters Madre Nazzarena called the
Servant of God “Padre”. The same did Sister Epifania, first
councellor and secretary general.
She wrote in the name of the Foundress, Margherita Debrincat. She
called De Piro, “…un vero Padre…”
Sister Epifania’s
words are as strong as those of Madre Nazzarena:
… la Sua preziosa vita
di quarant’anni fu spesa tutta quanta nel cercare la gloria di Dio e
nel beneficare il prossimo. Fortunatamente fra i molti da V.C.
beneficati sono i membri della nostra Congregazione che trovano in
Lei un vero Padre il quale cerca e desidera il loro avvanzamento
spirituale e temporale. Alle sue indefesse cure si attribuisce il
cambiamento notevole dell’ Istituto Fra Diegu, il vantaggio ricavato
da quelle Suore a cui tocco la sorte di avvicinarsi a V.R.P. e tanti
altri favori che per brevità taccio.
Mother Margherita Debrincat,
the Foundress, seemed to consider Mgr De Piro more than close to her
Congregation, “Insomma, rinnovando i più sentiti
ringraziamenti non solo per il passato ma per tutto quello che farà
(come spero nella S. Bonta) a vantaggio della nostra cara Comunità
la quale La riconosce quale Padre Generale, ecc.”
Exactly because
she considered the Servant of God as their superior general, the
Foundress wrote again to De Piro on 6 April 1920 and asked him
something quite intimate to her and her companions:
Abuso della Sua bontà
e colgo l’occasione della sua andata a Roma per pregarla a voler
farci la carità di procurarci delle informazioni, per ciò che si
richiede per la nostra approvazione. Mi dirigo a V.S. Illma di
comune intesa con Mgr Vescovo di Gozo ove risiede la nostra Casa
Madre, e Le rimetto anche copia manoscritta delle nostre
Costituzioni.
Eight years later
De Piro showed how much he wished to support these Franciscan
Sisters and the work they did. In October 1927 five of these nuns
went to Ethiopia to start their missionary work there. In his “Saint
Paul: Almanac of the Institute of the Missions”, the Servant of God
published an article in which he gave details about the departure of
these five nuns to the missions.
In the same publication De Piro presented to the readers a letter
written by His Excellency Andrea Jarosseau, a Bishop in Abyssinia,
in appreciation for the arrival of the Sisters in his diocese.
When Mother Rosa, the superior of the Franciscan group in Ethiopia,
died, Monsignor presented his readers with a short biographical note
about this pioneer missionary of the Franciscan Sisters in Ethiopia.
De Piro dedicated another considerable space of his 1932 Almanac to
describe the departure of another group of Franciscan Sisters to
Abyssinia.
-
The Missionary Sisters of Jesus of Nazareth
In this chapter
and in the second one
I shall be presenting Mgr Joseph De Piro as the Director of the
Jesus of Nazareth Orphanage. But the Servant of God had contact with
the Missionary Sisters of Jesus of Nazareth not only because they
were in charge of the day to day running of the Institute; he also
helped them a lot in their being set up as a religious missionary
institute. And he continued helping them until his death. It is this
contribution of De Piro that I shall be presenting here.
Although the Jesus of Nazareth
Orphanage and the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Jesus of
Nazareth are not the same thing, but they can be said to have
started and progressed concurrently. Therefore one can say that even
the Congregation had its beginning in 1913.
Although since this date the Servant of God had been only the
spiritual director of Guzeppina Curmi, the Foundress, he must have
undoubtedly discussed with her both the foundation of the Institute
and that of her Congregation. Then there was a period where it was a
certain Fr Paul Zammit, a priest from Gudja, Malta, who directed the
Institute. During these years the contact between Curmi and De Piro
were suspended. In 1922 Fr Zammit died and Curmi sought again the
help of Monsignor. From the letter De Piro wrote to Archbishop
Caruana on 21 May 1933, we know that it was His Excellency who
invited th Servant of God to help Guzeppina.
De Piro accepted the request.
From a letter the Foundress wrote to
Archbishop Caruana on 28 December 1924 one concludes that His
Excellency had told De Piro something which discouraged the latter
and made him stop helping, as much as he was before, the advancement
of the Sisters’ Congregation.
At the same time on 11 February 1932 Archbishop Caruana wrote to the
Prefect of the Congregation for Religious and told him that he had
been asked for a long time by De Piro to approve as a sodality the
group of ladies who were taking care of various homes of
beneficence.
His Excellency wanted to approve this group of ladies but he wished
to go step by step.
To help the acquisition of the diocesan
approval for the ladies, the Servant of God suggested that (1) for
the moment they were supposed to consider the Constitutions of the
Society of St Paul as their own rule; (2) in Malta and abroad, the
ladies were expected to cooperate in their work with the members of
the Society of St Paul, founded by De Piro in 1910; (3) their name
becomes Missionaries of Jesus of Nazareth in order to indicate that
the scope of the Pia Unione was missionary; and (4) they were
expected to have a particular type of dress.
Not all proposals were accepted by the Congregation for Religious
and therefore the Servant of God had to face more difficulites.
De Piro was not alive when the nulla osta from the
Congregation for Religious reached Malta’s Archbishop for the
diocesan approval of the Missionary Sisters of Jesus of Nazareth; it
was written to Archbishop Caruana on 31 October 1933, more than a
month after the death of the Servant of God.
-
President of the Special Consultative Committee for the restoration
of St Paul’s Church, Rabat, Malta
On 4 January 1925 there was set up a
General Committee for the restoration of the Church of St Paul,
Rabat, Malta. This same Committee, then, created a Commission which
prepared a Project that was presented to the Archbishop of Malta,
re: the same restoration. On his part His Excellency nominated a
Special Committee to study the feasibility or not of the same
Project and present its conclusions.
De Piro was made President of this Special Committee.
In all there were four meetings of the
Special Committee: 27 May, 2 , 12 and 19 June of the year 1925.
On the 22 of the same month the members signed the corrected minutes
of their last meeting.
- Minister of
the Word
During his
seminary years in Rome, Joseph did not show very good qualities as a
prospective preacher. He suffered from an inflammation in his throat
which, apart from being painful, often created difficulties when
speaking.
Though when still in Rome he got rid of this, he continued suffering
from tuberculosis.
In fact during his first years as a priest in Malta he was afraid to
accept the offer of the director of the Opera della Missione, Mgr E.
Debono, to begin preaching in Maltese parishes.
However as time went on he overcame this fear and though on his own
and not with Mgr Debono, embarked on this apostolate with fresh
zeal.
We can deal with
this aspect of De Piro’s life because luckily, as in other areas of
his life, the Servant of God took pains to be precise. In fact in
the De Piro Archives one can still find sermons which the Servant of
God used to write, some of them in complete form, before delivering
them. There are two hundred and thirteen of these sermons. This is
already a good number, but these same sermons indicate that De Piro
had made more than these. Some of them are not complete; they imply
that there was more material. Others refer to sermons which do not
seem to exist anymore.
De Piro did not
only write the sermons. He even put them in files according to the
themes. At the top of the sermon he often noted where, when, and to
whom he was making the sermon. Through the several Maltese words and
phrases De Piro put in brackets, and which he included in the text,
one can conclude that he used Maltese when preaching. At the same
time the written preparation as a whole was in Italian.
De Piro’s
preaching was quite pastorally oriented; with his word he wanted to
help those hearing him to come closer to God. Thus his homelies
tended to be simple. At the same time an analysis of the texts
reveals sound biblical
and theological foundations.
- Archbishop’s
Delegate in the Committee for the Peace Feasts
When the First World War was over the
Maltese Government organised some festivities to celebrate the
acquisition of peace.
The Archbishop was asked by the Governor to choose his deputy for
the Committee that was to take care of the organisation of the
celebrations.
Archbishop Mauro Caruana chose De Piro as his representative.
- Member of the
National Assembly (1919-1921)
On 23 November 1918 Dr. Filippo Sceberras offered
to help the preparation of a draft of a
Constitution for the Maltese Islands.
First there was an appeal to all Maltese associations to send their
delegates to form a National Assembly.
Amongst those present there were four canons representing the
Metropolitan Chapter of the Cathedral of Malta and the clergy.
De Piro was the first of these.
The members met for the first time on 25 February 1919.
On 7 June of that same year there was held the second meeting of the
Assembly.
Here it was decided that there be formed a Central Commission made
up of a representative from each important Maltese association,
already present in that Assembly.
Monsignor De Piro, being the Dean of the Cathedral Chapter, was
chosen again.
In this meeting the members agreed to start work on the draft of the
Constitution.
But outside the "Giovine Malta", the place where the members
were gathered, there arose an upheaval and the session was
suspended.
It was on 23 June that the Central Commission held its first
meeting.
In all there were five sessions of the National Assembly and
fourteen of the Central Commission.
Although these meetings meant hours and hours of discussions, De
Piro, with the exception of the first and thirteenth meetings of the
Central Commission, was always present.
This was already a proof of his real love for his country. But it
was not only a question of attendance: his was always an active
involvement. Together with the other Monsignori he had to be present
at ordinary and extraordinary Chapter sessions in order to discuss
and prepare material which was to be treated in the Assembly or in
the Commission. Not infrequently he had even to do research work on
his own in order to support the Chapter’s convictions.
During the meetings he always behaved with the
other members with an open mind: he was
always and only after the good of the nation and never wanting to
impose his own ideas. After each session he had to inform the other
Canons, and this again meant much work for him.
De Piro’s efforts to be always present
in all these meetings and his active participation in them are
already a proof of his dedication to his country. But this love of
his for whatever was Maltese was expressed more directly when the
Central Commission discussed the language problem; he was among the
members who were in favour of the use of the Maltese language in the
future Parliament by those who wanted to do so.
- The ‘Sette
Giugno’ Riots (1919)
A few lines above mention has already
been made of the upheavals which arose during the second session of
the National Assembly held on 7 June 1919.
Since Monsignor De Piro was a member of the National Assembly and
this was the body set up with the explicit scope of seeking the
interests of the Maltese, he, together with a few other members,
considered it his duty to intervene even in this hard moment.
It is a known fact that in the Sette
Giugno riots there were several criminals who mixed with the
other Maltese and acted in a most condemnable way.
But these must be considered as the exception. In general those who
participated in the three day event were people who wanted to fight
for their legitimate rights. This was the only reason why De Piro
intervened in such a delicate situation. In spite of the fact that
he even risked his own life, the Servant of God spent three days
going here and there, at one time meeting some British officer, at
another time the Commissioner of Police, at another time members of
the Assembly, and at other times, even the mob.
It seems befitting to stress all this by a statement published eight
years later:
Fr Joseph De Piro, a
priest whom nobody can accuse of any fault, is an example of
integrity, devoted dedication and holiness. He is also a patriot,
who was involved in heartbreaking events - the disorders and deaths
on 7 June 1919. On that occasion he was in the midst of firing and
close to the injured. De Piro is, for the Church and his native
country, an exemplary priest and an ideal patriot. Everyone
should love and admire him.
And on our part we can add that
Monsignor was a real proof of the power of non violence.
- Cashier of the
Committee Pro Maltesi Morti e Feriti per la Causa Nazionale il 7
Giugno del 1919
The shooting of
four men by the British soldiers on 7 June 1919, made all Maltese
join forces and forget their different opinions about various
aspects of their lives.
In fact on 8 June 1919 there met at the “Giovine Malta”, a central
building in Valletta, a group of volunteers
who created a Committee which would gather money for the families of
the victims who died or were wounded the day before.
In the fourth meeting of this Committee, Sir Filippo Sceberras was
chosen as honorary president and Dr Enrico Mizzi as secretary.
De Piro was one of the clerics to join them.
He was made the cashier of this Committee.
In the beginning,
the Committee met twice a week. In all, the members met 52 times,
the last time in January 1926.
In the minutes of the Committee there are the details of the
information gathered by the members about the persons who were
helped and the amount of money each person was given.
-
Member of the Committee
for the visit, of H.R.H., the Prince of Wales (1921)
On 10 August 1920
there was the last meeting of the Central Commission of the National
Assembly which was entrusted with the writing of the draft
Constitution for Malta.
On 30 April 1921 there followed the promulgation of the Letters
Patent of 14 April 1921 from the side of Britain.
On 5 and 6 October 1921 there were the elections for the members of
the Senate of the first bicamerale Maltese parliament, while
those for the members of the Legislative Assembly were held on18 and
19 October of the same year.
On 1 November 1921 there came to Malta, the Prince of Wales to open
this first Maltese Parliament.
For the organisation of this visit there was set up a special
committee. Mgr Joseph De Piro must have been invited to make part of
this Committee. In fact after the celebrations were over the Servant
of God received two letters of appreciation: one was a personal
thank you note from the Superintendent of Public Works,
while the other one was written by the Lieutenant Governor himself
and it was addressed to all those who helped in the organisation of
the visit of His Royal Highness.
- Member of the
Unione Leoniana
In this thesis
there will soon be presented the socio economic situation of Malta
during the nineteenth and early years of the twentieth centuries.
Some reference will also be made to the employments issue and the
conditions of work of the employees during these same years.
But here it is important to say that after 1920 De Piro was implied
in a movement which was after these same issues. At least to some
extent.
It happened that,
Fr Charles Plater, the Jesuit considered by the English Catholics as
an authority in the social studies,
was feeling so much ill that he was ordered to have some rest. First
it was thought that he would go to Australia, but his doctor was
afraid of the length of the journey.
Plater had already some contact with a certain Canon Carm Bugelli of
Malta, about the labour issue.
He also had some contact with a certain Paolo Francesco Bellanti
about the same thing.
He therefore chose Malta where he thought that his apostolate would
find fertile ground.
Fr Plater arrived
in Malta on 15 December 1920.
When in Malta he seemed to forget about his rest. He met Governor
Lord Plumer, twice the Archbishop, several politicians, various
priests who were involved in the social life, and several socio
economic entities.
He even made talks to several organisations.
One point which Fr
Plater repeatedly emphasised during his stay in Malta was the need
for social education. He noticed that the local situation, which was
at the moment facing great social problems, lacked social
knowledge. To promote this indispensable knowledge and to stimulate
it with vital interest, he organised and set going the Unione
Leoniana, which was, according to his own draft statutes, “an
association for spreading in Malta among all classes of the
population, the social teachings of the Catholic Church and thus
paving the way for a sound christian democracy”.
On 28 January 1921 he also wrote that he wished, “… to see a dozen
study clubs at work…”
In these clubs Plater wished that the clergy would become conscious
of their paramount duty to know and instruct, and the laity to learn
and know, what the Catholic Church taught about the social question.
In Mdina there
seemed to be the wish to establish one of the Plater clubs. In fact
Albert Magri, secretary of the Unione Leoniana,
wrote toMgr De Piro telling him that in the meeting of the Unione,
held on 1 February (probably 1921) the Servant of God was nominated
as member of the sub committee of Mdina.
In the same letter Magri encouraged De Piro to accept becoming
member.
It does not seem that the project of Fr
Plater grew up. Emmanuel Agius referred to it as “… a seed which
did not find fertile soil.”
His presence however, enhanced a healthy discussion on the social
question.
- Member of the
Governing Board of the Malta War Memorial Hospital for Children
In a letter
written to him on 25 July 1922 by Dr Augustus Bartolo, the Servant
of God was told that in a general meeting of the Malta War Memorial
Hospital for Children he was unanimously chosen as a member of the
Governing Board of this Institution.
- Member of the
Special Committee of the British Empire Exhibition
A letter was
written by the Prime Minister of Malta, Mr Joseph Howard, on 27
September 1922 to Mgr De Piro telling him “… that His Excellency the
Governor has been pleased to approve of your appointment as a member
of the Special Committee to consider the question of the official
participation of Malta in the British Empire Exhibition of 1924.”
It was the duty of the Committee: “(1) to report what class of
exhibit should be sent to the Exhibition so that Malta may be
worthily represented; (2) to submit a list of intended exhibitors
and indicate the approximate space required by each exhibitor; and
(3) to ascertain under what conditions intending exhibitors would
come forward.”
In 1925, when the
Exhibition was over, the Servant of God was awarded a silver medal
and diploma for his contribution in the Committee.
- Archbishop’s
Representative on the Committee of the Zammit Clapp Hospital
According to a
letter sent by the General Secretary of the Archdiocese of Malta,
Mgr E. Vassallo, to Mgr De Piro, Dean of the Metropolitan Chapter of
the Cathedral, the said Chapter was supposed to choose a canon who
could represent the Archbishop on the Committee of the Zammit Clapp
Hospital, St Julian’s, Malta.
From the several reminders Vassallo sent to the Cathedral Chapter
one can rightly conclude that this choice of a representative had to
be done each year.
On 28 January 1925 Canon Philip Muscat, Chancellor of the Cathedral
Chapter wrote to the General Secretary Vassallo and informed him
that De Piro had been confirmed representative of the Chapter on the
Zammit Clapp Committee even for that year.
Which meant that the Servant of God had already been representative
at least during the previous year. The last note we have in relation
to this representation is of 13 December 1930. This says that
Monsignor was confirmed as representative even for the following
year, that is for the year 1931.
-
Archbishop’s
representative on the organising committee for the visit of the Duke
and Duckess of York (1927)
On 17 June 1927
Prince Albert, Duke of York , the future King George VI, and his
wife, the Duchess, began an official visit to Malta. They had an
intensive programme to follow. This was prepared by a Committee
chosen specifically to organise this visit.
From a letter written by the Servant of God on 22 May 1927 to the
Secretary General of the Archdiocese, one can conclude that the
former was chosen by the Archbishop to represent him on this
organising Committee.
-
Member of the Tourism
Committee
According to a
letter written to De Piro on 8 November 1927 by the secretary to the
Minister for Public Instruction, Monsignor was also chosen as member
of the Tourism Committee.
From the correspondence still preserved in the De Piro Archives we
know that this Committee mainly dealt with the establishment of a
group of tourist guides who could take care of visitors to the many
churches of Malta, epecially the Cathedral at Mdina and St John’s
CoCathedral in Valletta.
The members of the Committee were expected to draw a draft of the
regulations that were to be observed by these guides.
- Mediator
between the Church and Lord Gerard Strickland
When one
comes to know that the Servant of God was so much involved in the
social life of our country, one may conclude that he was also active
in its political dimension. One may arrive all the more at the same
conclusion when one knows that the De Piros were quite involved in
politics in some one party or other. Monsignor might have had his
own personal convictions but he never expressed these same opinions
in public. It was because of this that he could serve as a mediator
between the Church and one of the primeministers of Malta, Lord
Gerald Strickland, during the years 1930-1932. It was to this
intervention that the Daily Malta Chronicle referred in an
appreciation published on 19 September, 1933:
Monsignor De Piro - A Tribute to his
Memory
... For a little more than a year ...
since the opening of the present Parliament ... he (Monsignor De
Piro) had, in addition to his manifold roles, yet another ... he was
one of the Archbishop’s representatives in the Senate ... a task we
are inclined to believe, he must have undertaken out of that sense
of duty and utter selflessness which were uppermost in his
character; for he fought shy of politics and kept away from the
political strife. Yet there has been a notable and quite recent
occasion, when he played a remarkable and beneficent part in the
political field, though he hardly figured in it at all. It was he,
in fact, who was mainly responsible, through his initiative, his
tact and particularly his sincerity and earnestness of purpose, for
putting an end to the unfortunate politico-religious dispute which
caused so much harm to the Island; it was he who restored the
relations between Church and State to their normal and traditional
state of peace and cordial cooperation. No one was better fitted for
the task ... no one enjoyed to a greater degree the confidence of
both sides, nor possessed the qualities that were necessary to
undertake the delicate mission and carry it to a happy conclusion.
Not for that alone, however, are we all in the Church and State
alike profoundly moved by his sudden and untimely death: we mourn in
him the loss of one who was indeed a pillar of both Church and
State.
From the various persons interviewed by
Aloisius Aloisio we know that after many interventions, Monsignor
was once again an instrument of peace, this time between Strickland
and the Church.
-
Senator in the Third
Maltese Parliament
One of the issues which caused most of
the trouble between Lord Strickland and the Church was the
participation of the clergy in Parliament. As had been just said
peace was acquired between Strcikland and the Church. But the
Archbishop held the right to have representatives in Parliament. In
fact when the Third Legislature was formed, on 17 October, 1932, His
Excellency nominated two Monsignori as members of the Senate; Mgr De
Piro was again one of the two.
After his
death, the Daily Malta Chronicle commented about this other duty of
De Piro:
A little more than one
year ago, Mgr De Piro was entrusted with another duty besides the
others he had. He was chosen as one of the Archbishop’s
representatives in the Senate. We feel we can say that he accepted
only because he considered it his duty and on his part he never
sought his own interests. For him duty and dedication to others came
first...
We know what were “the other duties” of De Piro! As
has already been
said he was Canon and Dean of
the Cathedral Chapter. He was also
Director of six ecclesiastical
charitable Institutes. Besides, the Servant of God had, in 1910,
founded the Missionary Society of St Paul which by 1932, had already
four communities in Malta and a mission in Abyssinia. Not to mention
the hundred and one other responsibilities and ministries.
Monsignor did not intervene too often in the Senate, only some three
times. “The dedication” mentioned above could be seen more in his
regular attendence, although his interventions, especially one, were
a very positive contribution to the social life of Malta and the
Maltese.
(iiia)
Institutionalised charity
The connection of
De Piro with St. Joseph’s Institute, Santa Venera, from early on in
De Piro’s life has already been referred to.
Before he was ordained priest he had already made his wishes clear
to Archbishop Peter Pace; he wished to go and live there together
with the other two priests.
When still a seminarian he had sent donations to the Institute.
And once he spent one whole month at the Institute substituting Fr.
George Bugeja in the running of the Institute.
However it transpired that though working with six different
Institutes, this ministry of his was not to start at St Joseph’s,
Malta.
In 1860 Fra Diegu
Bonanno, a Franciscan Minor, began providing shelter for those young
women who for one reason or another ended up on the Maltese streets,
often to the detriment of their reputation. This initiative had a
small beginning. In time however, this work began to grow. Fra Diegu
died on 4 May 1902.
His fellow Franciscans spent some time running the Institute, but
then had to leave, consigning it to the Diocese on 2 August 1907.
Archbishop Pace accepted the advice of Fr. George Bugeja, of St
Joseph’s Institute, about whom to place in charge of Fra Diegu
Institute. Bugeja had no hesitation in suggesting De Piro,
and the Archbishop took the cue, nominating him as Director of Fra
Diegu.
The Archbishop did
not choose the Servant of God only because of what Fr. George had
told him but as his Excellency declared in the nomination, also
because he had realised that Fr. Joseph was a good, diligent wise,
and active priest.
- Secretary of the
Committee of the Bishop’s Foundation for Bread to the Poor during
the War
On 1 December 1916
the Archbishop of Malta, Mgr Mauro Caruana:
Desiderosi di recare qualche aiuto ai
poveri che formano la parte eletta del nostro gregge e che pei tempi
calamitosi che corrono, difficilmente possono procacciarsi il
necessario alla vita; abbiamo creduto di costituire un Comitato …
allo scopo di raccogliere fondi per poter coll’aiuto della divina
Providenza, allargare la distribuzione del pane dove se ne sente il
bisogno.
Mgr Joseph De Piro
was nominated secretary of this Committee.
In the same decree of foundation the Archbishop appealed to the
archpriets, parishpriests, curates, religious superiors and rectors
of churches to help the Committee with the collections of money.
In fact His Excellency ordered that in every church there would be a
collection specifically for this aim.
He even appealed to the rich individuals to help.
The Committee
published in the La Diocesi: Bullettino Ufficiale Ecclesiastico
di Malta, almost each month, for 15 times, the lists of
benefactors who contributed towards the Fund.
- Director of
the Jesus of Nazareth Institute, Zejtun, Malta
In 1922, Mgr De Piro was assigned the
responsibility of the second ecclesiastical charitable Institute,
Jesus of Nazareth Institute, in Zejtun, Malta. The contacts with
Guzeppina Curmi, the Foundress of this Orphanage, had already been
established much earlier. In fact; even before 1913, Guzeppina
sought spiritual direction from Monsignor, and she continued to do
so even after opening the first and second houses in Zejtun. For a
time this contact was not maintained. It was then in 1922 that Madre
Curmi sought the Servant of God; she came with the proposal that he
become the director of the Institute which she and some of her
companions had at the house of Marquis Testaferrata Bonnici in
Zejtun. De Piro wrote these words to the Archbishop, “… la mia
direzione per l’Istituto Gesù Nazzareno, che io non accettaì, questa
volta, se non pel tramite di Vra Eccza …”
As the number of
children was increasing steadily Madre Curmi felt the need to build
a better Institute. After borrowing some money she bought a piece of
land near “San Girgor”, Zejtun, and in 1925 started the construction
works.
With the laying of the foundation stone De Piro, though already
laden with a lot of other things, had to cater also for the many
demands arising from such an enterprise as building a new institute.
The many letters we have show how he had to deal with Government
departments, benefactors, and agents so as to propel the work. He
did this for no less than five years, when on 16 July 1930 the first
part of the building was inaugurated.
- Director of St
Joseph’s Institute, Santa Venera, Malta
After being for two years Rector of the
Major Seminary in Mdina, De Piro requested that he be relieved of
the post. He wished to dedicate himself more fully to the religious
missionary Society which he had founded a few years earlier.
In spite of the fact that Archbishop Mauro Caruana had acceded to
this request,
two years later his Excellency nominated the Servant of God to yet
another post, that of Director of St. Joseph Institute, Santa
Venera.
This time De Piro did not even mention the Society. He accepted the
Archbishop’s request immediately. This meant that De Piro became
Director of St Joseph’s no less than 15 years after being first
nominated Director of Fra Diegu.
We have already noted how intimately De
Piro’s option for the poor was linked with St. Joseph’s,
Malta.
Also, we have to keep in mind that this was not simply a personal
option, but even one for his prospective missionary Society. After
returning from Switzerland, he immediately tried to find priests who
could join him in the setting up of his society. To Fr Emmanuel
Vassallo, director of St Joseph’s, he even presented his project in
writing.
When writing about the scope of the Society, De Piro mentioned St
Joseph’s Home as one of the “Campi prossimi d’azione” for the
members of his Society.
This was to occur in reality a short time after De Piro’s nomination
to St. Joseph’s, since the Freres De La Salle who were running St
Joseph’s, were finding it difficult to continue doing so because of
lack of vocations.
When they left, De Piro called in the members of his Society to
replace them.
- Director of St
Joseph’s Institute, Ghajnsielem, Gozo
Soon after the
setting up of St. Joseph’s Home, in Santa Venera, by Mgr Francesco
Bonnici, Bishop Pietro Pace, a Gozitan and a former Bishop of Gozo,
expressed his wish that a branch be opened in Malta’s Sister Island
to cater for its orphans and needy boys. Because of certain
difficulties that arose, this project never materialised.
Three years later, three Maltese men, most probably encouraged by
Archbishop Pace, tried to start a house where they could shelter
abandoned boys. Again, this other initiative never saw the light of
day.
Another effort was done by Fr John Camilleri, one of the
parishpriests of Gozo. Knowing that the Freres De La Salle were
taking care of St Joseph’s, Malta, he invited them to start
something similar in Gozo. He seemed to have persuaded the Malta
Delegate of the Congregation. In fact the latter asked the Bishop of
Gozo, Mgr Giovanni Camilleri, to open a College for boys where the
Freres intended to impart a religious and civil education as well as
a solid and theoretical and practical instruction in arts and
trades. Bishop Camilleri who had been wishing to start something
similar blessed and approved the venture. Yet the problems seemed
too big to overcome and the project never materialised.
However the need
for a home for the Gozitan abandoned boys continued to be felt and
on 17 November 1923 the parish priests of Gozo drew up a notarial
contract whereby such an orphanage could be founded. For this end
they were to ask for a LM1000 subsidy from the government in return
for an undertaking to keep twenty orphans in the home which they
proposed to call the Diocesan-Parochial Orphanage and which was to
be sited at Ghajnsielem, Gozo.
This proposal was accepted by Mgr Michael Gonzi who in the meantime
had succeeded Peter Pace as Bishop of Gozo. The relevant foundation
decree was issued on 6 November 1924.
According to this
decree the home was to be known as Orfanatrofio Diocesano and
the civil government was not to interfere in any way in its running.
The officials responsible for its administration were to be chosen
by the parishpriests themselves subject to diocesan approval. The
bishop reserved the right to preside over the council of
administration and to vet all applications. In case the orphanage
should be forced to close down, all property was to pass to the
Bishop of Gozo.
As regards the
actual administration of the Home, the parishpriests were
unanimously of the opinion that it should be affiliated to St.
Joseph’s Home, Malta, which at that time had Mgr De Piro as its
Director.
Always meticulous in all he did, De Piro kept asking for more
information before he would commit himself.
He eventually gave his consent on 3 February 1925. That same day, in
his dual capacity as Director of St. Joseph’s Home and Superior of
the Society of St. Paul, he wrote to the Archbishop of Malta, asking
for permission to let the Society take over the running of the
Orphanage in Gozo.
Official approval was granted on 9 February.
When Mgr Michael Gonzi chose De Piro to
initiate and direct the new Institute of St. Joseph at Ghajnsielem,
he issued a decree
which included a beautiful certificate about the Servant of God. In
this document De Piro is presented as a person who had, “… mani
esperte.”
Apart from this document there are
others which shed more light on De Piro. Since in the case of this
Institute, De Piro was not only the first Director but also the one
who moulded it into being, it stands to reason that it implied a lot
of work in order to organise the whole thing. Material in the De
Piro Archives indicates that he had to resort to Governmental aid
more than once.
Thus this man, who came from a wealthy family was now begging for
land, subsidies, and other things.
-
Director of the Home for babies and young children, Santa Venera,
Malta
As if four institutes were not enough,
De Piro’s dedication and interest for working with needy children
and youths led him to think of something new. His work especially at
St. Joseph’s, Sta. Venera, led him to realise the existent void in
the care of babies and very young children below the entry age at St
Joseph’s, Malta.
To make up for this he sought the Sisters of Jesus of Nazareth and
with their help, in 1925, opened a house for these little ones at
Sta. Venera.
In this house children “… up to the age of seven, and exceptionally
up to the age of ten” were accepted.
- Director of
the Institute, St Francis de Paul, Birkirkara, Malta
In 1927 the Servant of God was chosen
as Director for the sixth Institute of charity, that of St Francis
de Paul, in Birkirkara, Malta.
There are very few documents about this Institute, but it seemed
that the biggest problem in relation to this Institute was for the
acquisition of an adequate house. Despite the increasing demands on
De Piro, he accepted this Institute and worked as hard as
he could during his lifetime in order to acquire a new building.
- His
testamentary will and the Institutes
What has already been said well brings
out the link between De Piro and the ecclesiastical charitable
nstitutes. This is further confirmed in his will: in the orphanages
he did everything gratis.
Also, after declaring what he wanted to bequeath to the Society of
St. Paul, his mother, Archbishop Caruana, the Jesus of Nazareth
Sisters and “Dar Sant’Ursola” at Qrendi, in articles 8 and 9 of his
will the Servant of God bequeathed some things to the Institutes of
Fra Diegu, Jesus of Nazareth and St Francis de Paul.
- Director of the
Workshop or Laboratory for unemployed young women, Valletta
It seems that a certain Maria
Assunta Borg had originated the “Laboratorio delle
Pericolanti”
in order to provide a healthy environment for those girls who did
not have a family to care for them and who wanted to learn a trade
and get a living from it.
According to Borg, it was the Archbishop of Malta, Mgr Mauro
Caruana, who assigned the Servant of God to the direction of this
place.
On his part Mgr De Piro never stopped thinking what could be done
for the Institutes entrusted to him. For this reason he would
change, arrange or build where needed. He also worked on bettering
the administrative systems of these Institutes. However his contact
with reality led him to see how some young ladies emerging from
these same Institutes, were finding no one to receive them and thus
ended up roaming about with some of them even seeking employment in
the pubs.
De Piro did not remain idle when faced with this reality; he did his
best to help these poor women. He thus accepted the Archbishop’s
assignment and embarked on this important project, the Laboratory.
The Workshop had a very difficult
beginning. Mgr De Piro had to work very hard to find a place for it.
The government was not very forthcoming.
However the main difficulties arose after the Laboratory was opened.
In fact we can say that this was a continual source of tension for
De Piro. He had to see from where to get the funds. At one point he
even went as far as organising a musical concert at the Royal
University, in Valletta.
Then he had to take care of the administration of the Project,
something which was even more difficult. To complicate matters the
person who was helping him was being given advice which went
diametrically opposite to his plans.
In the end the Laboratory had to be closed down!
- Director of
the Birkirkara Oratory
Birkirkara is one
of the oldest and most populous towns in Malta. There, early in the
twentieth century, an Oratory was built in its eastern part, to
cater for the christian formation of the sons of the people.
In 1910, Canon
Michael Sammut, a priest from Birkirkara, and Notary Michael L.
Casolani, obtained a plot of land for the building of a chapel.
It was Casolani who paid for its construction,
which was completed in four months and solemnly inaugurated on 31
July 1910.
Casolani had hoped that the Salesian Brothers would look after the
chapel and provide a religious and civil education for the people’s
children according to the methods of St John Bosco. In fact the
chapel was dedicated to Our Lady, Help of the Christians, patroness
of the Salesians.
A short time
after, an Oratory was built adjacent to the chapel. Again Casolani
paid for the building and, in accordance with his wishes, it was
entrusted to the Salesians who named it “Domenico Savio Oratory”.
When the Salesians
gave up the Oratory in 1912 due to a shortage of priests in their
congregation, the Freres De La Salle took over and renamed it after
St. John Baptist De La Salle.
But the Freres too had to give up responsibility of the Oratory
since they were finding it hard to get enough vocations.
For a number of
years the Oratory continued in its mission under the general
direction of its two founders.
On 15 December 1925 Casolani wrote to the Servant of God asking him
to take over the Oratory.
Although at that time De Piro had his hand full with his Society and
the various charitable institutions, and his physical condition was
giving him reason for concern,
he seriously considered taking over the Oratory for the Society of
St. Paul, asking Casolani for detailed information regarding all the
conditions he wanted to impose.
Since the Society
was still a diocesan one the Archbishop’s approval was necessary
before the Oratory could be accepted.
The Archbishop gave his consent on 21 January 1927
and the relevant contract was signed on 4 April.
De Piro made it quite clear that the Oratory was only being accepted
on behalf of the Missionary Society of St. Paul,
and that there should be no interference in its running by any other
congregation.
On its part the Society undertook to continue that spiritual welfare
that was already being performed and to accept responsibility for
all future expenses.
The ceding of the
Oratory to the Society came at a most opportune time because its
co-founder and director, Canon Michael Sammut died soon afterwards
on 11 November 1927.
The primary
concern of the Oratory was to educate the young poor children of the
area,
spiritually.
The children had mass daily and were encouraged to go to confession
every Saturday. The main feasts observed by the Oratory were
Christmas and Our Lady, Help of Christians.
The Servant of God, however, did not neglect the physical and
intellectual development of the children. The catechists supervised
them as they played in the playground and produced modest theatrical
representations to bring out their hidden talents.
For the first few
years of the Society’s administration, De Piro was formally
considered the Superior of the Oratory. It was he who signed all
correspondence and other documents.
Monsignor had also
struck a very close friendship with Notary Casolani with whom he
shared a deep desire for charitable deeds.
Casolani was eventually drawn towards the Society and he considered
it more than a coincidence that both the Society and the Oratory had
been inaugurated in the same year, 1910.
Mgr De Piro also
had in mind the utilising of the Oratory as a sort of aspirandate
for those who wished to join the Society as either priests or
brother - catechists. This possibility was discussed during a
council meeting on 4 August 1928.
As the Founder said in the following meeting of 11 August, the
Birkirkara Oratory would serve as a kind of Training School, while
the novitiate proper would remain at Mdina or Hamrun (Santa Venera),
or at St. Agatha’s when this bui1ding would be completed.
It was planned that the Training School, which was dedicated to the
Assumption of Our Lady, would open towards the end of the at same
year.
The Training
School was placed under the directorship of Fr Michael Callus. It
remained open for only six years, that is a few months after De
Piro’s death. But it has always been considered as intimately
connected with the early years of the Society in Birkirkara.
(iiib) A
non-institutionalised charity
Not all charitable activities of Mgr De
Piro were so organised as presented above. It was not the first time
that the Servant of God helped families of members of his Society.
Also, a glance at the Petty Cash Books of St. Joseph’s, Sta. Venera,
would prove illuminating. One would find entries such as
“To.... ’s mother,” “To …’s father,” “To an unfortunate poor lady”,
“To a poor family”, or “Elemosina donated at the door”.
This latter entry is quite frequent and at times involved relatively
substantial amounts of money.
(iiic) Working
for justice
nother virtue which accompanied De
Piro’s virtue of charity was justice. De Piro sometimes increased
the wages of the employees. This is borne out with a look at the
registers Casa di San Giuseppe - Ist. Bonnici, Piccola
Cassa. At a time when government pensions were still inexistent
he gave a pension to those who finished working at St. Joseph’s
Institute. Also pensions were given to widows of such workers. The
same treatment was meted out to the teachers at the Cathedral
School, at Mdina.
- “The idea”
When writing
about De Piro’s period of the diaconate it was said that this was
the time when he had to decide whether to go to the “Accademia
Ecclesiastica” or to St Joseph’s
Institute, Malta.
It was also said that he wanted to settle in the Institute in order
to be with other priests taking care of orphans.
But this was not the only reason. He himself also said that,
“Una delle ragioni che mi
inducevano di stabilirmi nella Casa di S. Giuseppe è stata la
seguente: ‘Perchè un sentimento interno mi dice, che Iddio da questo
istituto voglia formare a Malta, una Congregazione di Sacerdoti
sotto il Patrocinio di San Paolo, e così nel rendere stabile l’opera
a Malta, si diffonda anche all’estero’.”
This was the time when De Piro was
still at his studies, but had it not been for his spiritual
director, Padre Gualandi, who told him to stop thinking about this,
Joseph would have developed furthermore his “idea”.
Referring to De Piro’s Diary one finds
out that the Servant of God obeyed the advice of his spiritual
director.
During the remaining months of his stay in Rome he dedicated himself
to his studies. Then, when he went for eighteen months in Davos,
Switzerland, to recuperate his health, he could do nothing because
he was too far away from Malta, where he intended to start his
project.
The first person to whom De Piro said
something about his “idea” was Fr Emmanuel Vassallo, the then
director of St Joseph’s Institute, Malta. It was on 16 January 1905.
Vassallo did not discourage De Piro but at the same time the former
did not seem so enthusiastic about the project.
Yet the contacts between De Piro and Vassallo continued.
On 11 February 1905 Vassallo suggested to the Servant of God to put
down his “idea” in writing.
On 22 February 1905 De Piro wrote this in his Diary:
Trovandomi in Valletta
invece di mandare la lettera mi portaì dal Vassalli e gli dissi che
non intendevo scrivere ciò che mi aveva domandato, lo esortaì alla
preghiera e gli dissi che non l’avrei cercato più. Però circa due
giorni dopo aprendo lo ‘Chainion’ Comp. di Meditazione, mi ha fatto
cambiare l’idea, la meditazione sul vangelo della prossima domenica
Sexagesima. ‘Il buon pensiero è un seme che il Salvatore getta nell’
anima nostra’.
De Piro tried
twice to write down his “idea”, but was unsuccessful. The third time
he succedded in doing so.
At the same time he kept contact with Vassallo.
On 7 August 1905 Fr Joseph met the latter and gave him the project
in writing:
1.
Una società di Missionari - pel
presente non è facile il dire se debba essere regolare o secolare,
però se coll’aiuto di Dio e della Vergine si arriverà all’erezione
di corpo regolare, questo deve essere perfettamente tale e deve
cercare il modo ed i mezzi di tenere a se aggregati il Clero
Secolare.
2.
Lo scopo principale, come indica
il nome della Società, consiste nelle Missioni estere.
3.
Campi prossimi d’azione possono
essere:
a)
La Casa di S. Giuseppe
b)
Le colonnie di Maltesi
all’estero ed
c)
a bordo le corazzate etc.
4.
Affidare la società al valido
patrocinio di S. Paolo, dal quale prenderà il nome.
5.
Pel presente non fare voti ne
giuramenti, però dobbiamo essere disposti a secondare la Volontà
Divina con somma generosità. La nostra parola d’ordine deve essere,
‘Sequar te quocumque ieris’
6.
Fare ogni anno gli Ezercizi
Spirituali di San Ignazio di Layola.
7.
Incontrarci almeno una volta al
mese.
8.
Incominciare la formazione di un
capitale per contribuzioni mensili.
In this meeting
Vassallo made some suggestions to De Piro amongst which that the
latter should meet Canon Francesco Bonnici, the Founder of St
Joseph’s Institute, Sta Venera.
The Servant of God tried to do this that same day but was
unsuccessful. It was on the 17 of that month that De Piro and
Bonnici met.
As regards this meeting, Fr Joseph wrote this in his Diary:
Sono stato dal
Canonico Bonnici e gli ho raccontato la facenda. Egli mi ha detto
che data l’indole del prete Maltese troppo attacato al paese natio;
se ben mi ricordo, qualificò la mia idea impossibile, qualora non
accadesse un fatto soprannaturale. Mi raccontò anche come aveva
lavorato ad una cosa simile e che non gli era riuscito soggiungendo,
‘forse non ero la persona destinata dalla Divina Provvidenza.’ Mi
consigliò di coltivare l’idea, che il Signore forse mi farà
incontrare con qualcheduno. Intanto mi esortò alla preghiera e di
non fare ulteriori passi, ripetendomi il detto del Padre Gualandi,
‘se son rose fioriranno.’
For De Piro
it seemed that for most of the year 1906 there was nothing worth
remembering; he did not write anything before the 18 November. On
that day he put down these words:
Trovandomi a Roma ed
occorrendo oggi la dedicazione delle Basiliche dei S.S. Apostoli
Pietro e Paolo, ho celebrato in San Pietro in Vaticano e proprio
sull’altare di S. Pietro. Ho applicato la messa in onore dei S.S.
Apostoli Pietro e Paolo pregando loro di farmi conoscere chiaramente
la volontà di Dio, ed aiutarmi a metterla in effetto.”
Returning to Malta
the Servant of God met again Vassallo who told him that he had met a
certain Mgr E. Debono, the director of the Pia Opera della Santa
Missione. The latter showed himself interested in De Piro’s
society, but from what Vassallo said, De Piro could see that Debono
did not understand the scope of the “idea”: Debono wished that the
Servant of God would join him in the Opera,
the aim of which was preaching in the
Maltese parishes. This activity of Debono had nothing to do with De
Piro’s missions ad gentes. Also, while Fr Joseph appreciated
Debono’s offer, he could not accept it because, “…essendo per
malattia inabile a predicare non ho avuto mai il coraggio di offrire
l’opera mia…”
On 10 December of that year De Piro
communicated for the first time his “idea” with Fr George Bugeja of
St Joseph’s, Malta.
The year 1907 was a bit better. Fr
Joseph met Fr George Bugeja, the assistant director of St Joseph’s
Institute, Malta, and the latter promised his help. They talked of a
community of secular priests.
No vows were to be mentioned.
They even mentioned some names of possible companions and agreed to
invite them to join in.
The year after deacon John Mamo showed
interest in De Piro’s Congregation.
Yet, it was quite clear from the beginning that Mamo’s plans were
different from those of the Servant of God.
The year 1908 offered another hope for
Fr Joseph. Archbishop Peter Pace had been wishing to start preparing
priests to go to the missions. He therefore wrote to the Superior
General of the MillHill Fathers and asked him his advise about the
setting up of a missionary seminary. The Superior General answered
His Excellency on 30 May 1908 and offered him several advices.
Archbishop Pace passed on this letter to De Piro. The latter thought
this matched with his “idea”. He in fact asked the Archbishop
whether he wanted to start that seminary.
His Excellency’s answer was negative.
The Servant of God asked the Archbishop whether he wanted him to
abandon his original project.
Pace told De Piro that he was not to do so. Rather he had to try to
find priests to join him in the founding of the missionary Society.
On 26 January 1909 Fr Joseph tried to
persuade a certain Rev Prof. Barbara to join him, Bugeja and Mamo.
In the meeting there was mention of life in community.
Barbara agreed but could not leave his mother sick at home.
Therefore De Piro, Bugeja and Mamo remained alone even during 1909.
More than this, even Mamo and Bugeja seemed to have different ideas
from that of the Servant of God: while the three agreed on the
opening of a house for the teaching of catechism, De Piro on his own
formulated the scope and nature of his project in a draft copy of a
profession that was to be made by the members of the future
institute. After mentioning Our Lady and St Paul as the patron
saints of the Society he said that the members must be ready to go
wherever necessary. He also presented the Spiritual Exercises of St
Ignatius as the basis of the rules and constitutions of the future
Congregation:
In Nome del Padre, del Figliuolo e
dello Spirito Santo, Così sia.
Promettiamo innanzi a Dio, alla Beata
Vergine Assunta in Cielo ed a San Paolo Apostolo di formar parte
della Piccola Compagnia di San Paolo appena ottenuta l’opportuna
autorizzazione dalla Santa Sede.
Scopo della Compagnia è quello di
formare dei Missionarii ed inviarli ove occorrono.
La Compagnia considererà come proprio
il libro degli Esercizi Spirituali di S. Ignazio di Loyola dal quale
estrae le proprie regole e constituzioni.
On 2 November 1909 De Piro met Mgr
Peter La Fontaine at Fra Diegu Institute, Hamrun. La Fontaine had
gone there while he was on an Apostolic Visit to Malta.
Since this very first meeting La Fontaine encouraged the Servant of
God a lot. He invited Fr Joseph to write his petition to the Pope.
In the petition De Piro, Bugeja and Mamo presented a religious
institute. Its members were to be missionaries, first and foremost
for the Maltese migrants.
This petition was recommended by Archbishop Peter Pace himself.
The work among the Maltese migrants was
first referred to by De Piro in his Diary in order to explain his
“idea” mentioned on 7 August 1905.
In the Supplica just mentioned above the Maltese living abroad were
referred to again. The Servant of God believed that the Society was
going to be mainly ad gentes,
but he could not forget the many Maltese who were going abroad. La
Fontaine got the impression that this other aim was the main scope
of the Society.
De Piro, Bugeja and Mamo wanted to have
a house for the Congregation. In the petition sent to the
Archbishop, the Society was again presented as religious, its
members were to be missionaries, but first and foremost for the
Maltese migrants.
The house was found. It was opened and blessed on 12 June 1910.
The first two members joined the Society on 30 June of the same
year.
The Servant of God did not have much
support except from Bugeja and Mamo. In 1910, after the beginning of
the Society, even these left him.
Also, La Fontaine so much seemed to have given Pope Pius X a wrong
impression about the main scope of the Society that in the blessing
sent to De Piro, His Holiness blessed the Founder and the catechist
priests who were working in the Maltese colonies of Corfù and
Tripoli.
In spite of this misunderstanding, Fr Joseph continuously emphasised
the ad gentes characteristic of the Society.
It was so much so that when the first member was nearing his
priestly ordination the Founder asked the Congregation of the
Sacraments for the titulo missionis.
The Society continued but not
without difficulties. What disheartened the Servant of God most was
the defection of some members who seemed promising, “Da
allora in poi ogni giorno ha avuto le sue fatiche e le sue
sofferenze, e se non mancarono dei disappunti e delle
umiliazioni, come la defezione di tre bravi studenti, che formavano
una vera speranza per l’Istituto…”
To balance this for a moment, John
Vella, one of the first two members of the Society, was ordained
presbyter on 20 September 1919.
The next step for De Piro was the
approval of the Society by the Maltese Hierarchy. He wrote the
petition on 10 March 1919.
This was accompanied by an information about the origin, development
and constitutions of the Society.
But Bishop Angelo Portelli, the Delegate Vicar General of Malta,
wanted the nulla osta from the Vatican in order to give the
diocesan approval to De Piro’s Society. Since the Servant of God was
presenting his Congregation as missionary, Portelli passed on the
material given him by De Piro and asked the consent of Propaganda
Fide.
Cardinal William Van Rossum, the Prefect of the Congregation for the
missions, could not see clearly (1) whether De Piro’s Congregation
was in fact religious, and (2) whether the main aim of the Society
was work in ad gentes countries or among the Maltese
migrants.
After some attemps at clarifications from the side of the Servant of
God
the Society was passed on to the Congregation for Religious.
This latter Congregation sent to Mgr Mauro Caruana, the Archbishop
of Malta, the nulla osta regarding the diocesan approval of
De Piro’s Society.
The canonical erection was dated 14 November 1921:
Decretum
Viso supplici libello Nobis porrecto ab
Ill.mo et Rev.mo Dno’ Can.co’ Decano Josepho De Piro pro erectione
canonica Societatis ab ipso fundata sub titulo S. Pauli Apostoli et
pro adprobatione constitutionem, quibus ipsa Societas regenda est;
Viso fine ad quem tendit institutio
praedictae Societatis; Auctoritate Nostra ordinaria erigimus et
tamquam canonice erectam declaramus Piam Societatem de qua in
precibus, sub titulo S. Pauli Apostoli; sub statutis quae ipsis
precibus adjicuintur, quaeque in modum experimenti adprobamus,
injungentes oratori ut infra sex menses Nobis exhibeat per extensum
et modo exhaurienti et completo statuto seu constitutiones, quibus
supradicta Societas regenda est.
Datum in N. Palatio Archiepali
Civ.
Vallettae
die 14 Novembris 1921
+ Maurus O.S.B. Arch.
Epus. Melit.
Sac. P. Vella Mangion
Cancell.
Concordat cum
originale
Sac. P. Vella Mangion
Cancellarius.
- A lot of work in
Malta and for the Maltese migrants, but priority to the missions
ad gentes
The missionary
activity was continuously the greatest ambition of De Piro for his
Society. In spite of the fact that the Congregation was already
doing much work in Malta and Gozo, especially in the Church’s
charitable institutes, and at the Oratory in
Birkirkara,
the Founder was still looking forward for the moment when he would
be able to send the first members to the missions. It was in 1927
that Br Joseph Caruana, one of the first two members of De Piro’s
Society, left Malta and went to Addis Abeba in Abbyssinia, or the
present Ethiopia.
This was not enough for Mgr De
Piro; he himself wished to go to the missions. In fact he had
planned that he, together with another priest and two catechist
brothers of the Society, would go to Br Caruana to see what were the
possibilities for the Society to work more in that African country.
From a letter sent by Br Caruana himself, it can be concluded that
the Founder, together with the others, intended to reach Abbysinia
in September, 1933.
- The “Saint
Paul: Almanac of the Institute of the Missions”
De Piro’s Society
was the main contribution he offered in favour of the Church’s
missionary activity. But it was not the only one! In 1922 he started
publishing a yearly pamphlet called “Saint Paul: Almanac of the
Institute of the Missions”. In it the Servant of God published
extracts from Papal missionary encyclicals;
information about missionary activities of the universal church and
social and geographical information about the missionary world;
profiles of missionary models, both Maltese and
foreign;
and original articles about some missionary aspect or other.
He continued publishing this Almanac until 1933. Although no one
article of the Almanac is signed we know that most of them were
written by the Servant of God himself.
(v) His sudden
death
Mgr De Piro’s desire to go to Abbysinia and plan for
the Society’s future there, had to give way to another completely
different event. It was 17 September, 1933. After the Servant of
God had led the procession of Our Lady of Sorrows in one of Malta’s
parishes, Hamrun, he felt sick while giving the Blessed Sacrament
benediction. He died that same day, late in the evening, at the
Central Hospital in Floriana, aged only fifty five.
