Joseph Mercieca
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His Excellency Joseph Mercieca S.Ġ. |
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| Archbishop of Malta | |
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| Native name | Ġużeppi Mercieca |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Archdiocese | Archdiocese of Malta |
| Province | Malta |
| Appointed | 29 November 1976 |
| In office | 1976–2006 |
| Predecessor | Mikiel Gonzi |
| Successor | Paul Cremona |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 8 March 1952 by Joseph Pace |
| Consecration | 29 September 1974 by Michael Gonzi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 November 1928 Victoria, Gozo, Malta |
| Died | 21 March 2016 (aged 87) Żejtun, Malta |
| Buried | St. Paul's Cathedral |
| Nationality | Maltese |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Previous post |
Auxiliary Bishop of Malta (1974–1976) Judge of the Sacred Roman Rota (1969–1974) Consulter to the Congregation of the Sacraments and of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (1974–1976) Rector of the Gozo Major Seminary (1959–1969) |
Joseph Mercieca (Maltese: Ġużeppi Mercieca, 11 November 1928 – 21 March 2016) was a Maltese prelate who served as Archbishop of Malta from 1976 to 2006. He is credited with restoring stability in the Maltese church following his predecessor Mikiel Gonzi's dispute with the Malta Labour Party.
Archbishop Mercieca was born in Victoria on the island of Gozo in Malta. He was baptised on 14 November 1928 and received the other sacraments at the parish church of St George in Victoria. He entered the Gozo seminary to study for the priesthood but continued his studies in Rome at the Gregorian university and the Lateran university. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1952 by Joseph Pace, the Bishop of Gozo at St James' Church in Victoria, Gozo. In 1958, he was chosen to be the rector of the Gozo Major Seminary. In 1969 Father Mercieca was appointed, by Pope Paul VI, to judge the Roman Rota.
Five years later Pope Paul VI appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of Malta to assist Archbishop Gonzi. He was consecrated bishop by Archbishop Mikiel Gonzi on the feast of St Michael in St. John's Co-Cathedral, Valletta. After Archbishop Gonzi retired in 1976, Bishop Mercieca succeeded him. He spent the next thirty years as the spiritual shepherd of the Archdiocese of Malta.
Mecieca is credited with restoring stability in the Maltese church following Gonzi's dispute with the Malta Labour Party in the 1950s and 1960s. A new dispute between the church and the Labour government arose in the 1980s over church schools and property, but this was resolved without creating long-lasting divisions.
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