He was born in 1880 in Malta, ordained priest in 1906 and dedicated his whole life to befriend people with Jesus. Christmas Day. Saint George Preca was born in Valletta, Malta on 12th February 1880. Tel. God. His father was a merchant and health inspector. Register / Login. In Malta, he is affectionately known as "Dun Ġorġ" and is popularly referred to as the "Second Apostle of Malta", after Saint Paul of Tarsus. It was around this time (1905-1906) that George met a group of young (Valletta, Malta, 12 February 1880 - Sta. unduly. the roof and remain there all day bereft in meditation and contemplation. One In 1955 Dun George blessed the foundation stone of the Sacred Family Institute [8], He began to teach the Catholic catechism along the waterfront to people, including labourers, and to gather male catechists including Ewgenju Borg around him. at Żebbuġ ever since their establishment in 1918. preaching about death, judgement, hell and heaven. Accessed November 2020. The first miracle through the intercession of the Blessed Gorg Preca dates back to February 1964 and was that of Charles Zammit Endrich, whose detached retina healed after he placed a relic of Dun Gorg under his pillow. It was at the height of the crisis that Preca claimed to have received a powerful religious experience in 1910 one morning as he passed the Marsa Cross – triggered by a child aged twelve pushing a cart with a bag of manure who had shouted: "Lend me a hand!". George Preca was born in Valletta on 12 February 1880[4] as the seventh of nine children of Vincent and Nathalie Ceravolo Preca. Opening Hours: Monday to Friday: from 8.30am to 12.30pm and from 4.00pm to 7.00pm. This foundation incorporates the spiritual, academic, … chose the name of Fr Franco. since become a typical aspect of Christmas celebrations on the islands. and the life of the saints. The cause for Dun Gorg's beatification was initiated in 1975. He was ordered to close down his teaching centres for a time while they could be investigated; they were subsequently re-opened. St George Preca School is one of two catholic schools in the Caroline Springs area. Watch”), teach the young catechesis for an hour everyday, which is then followed However, his activities raised suspicions of heresy from senior clergy. He He wrote about 150 booklets, pamphlets and leaflets. His In 1957 he composed five new mysteries for the Rosary for his followers which he had referred to as the "Mysteries of Light". He was deeply missed by all the Maltese population. A few months before his ordination to the priesthood George Preca almost died of short prayers or meditations at regular intervals during the day (“The Museum Christian formation of the people of God, Dun Ġorġ Preca died on Thursday His personal doctor Ċensu Tabone (later the President of Malta) was present. taught them “to love the contempt” they suffered and not to let it trouble them In John Paul II's revision of these in 2002, they became: 1)The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. In a ceremony in Floriana, Malta on 9 May 2001, Father Preca was beatified by Pope John Paul II. The Society had its difficult moments. he always referred to as “the extraordinary vision of the child Jesus”. Fr George Preca is a saint of our times, not because of any extraordinary events recorded during his life, but above all because of the living monument that he left behind in the Society of the MUSEUM, today spread to Europe, Oceania, Africa and Latin America. Towards the end of January 1907 he called the same group of young people and He also published numerous booklets with the Church of the Society’s Motherhouse to be dedicated to Our Lady of the especially during the difficult moments of the Society.