Saverio Cassar
|
The Reverend Monsignor Saverio Cassar |
|
|---|---|
| Archpriest of the Matrix of the Assumption Governor-general of Gozo |
|
| Church | Roman Catholic |
| Diocese | Malta |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 30 March 1771 |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 29, 1746 Malta |
| Died | December 16, 1805 (aged 58) Malta |
| Buried | Cathedral of the Assumption, Gozo |
| Nationality | Maltese |
Saverio Cassar (29 December 1746 – 16 December 1805) was a Gozitan priest and patriot, who was Governor-general of a de facto independent Gozo from 1798 to 1801.
Cassar was born in Gozo on 29 December 1746. He studied in Rome, being ordained a priest on 30 March 1771. He was nominated archpriest of the Gozo Matrice in 1773, and he became Provicar of Gozo in 1775.
On 3 September 1798, Gozitans rebelled against the French occupiers, and on 18 September Cassar was appointed head of the Government and Superintendent of the Island of Gozo. The French garrisons at the Cittadella and Fort Chambray surrendered to the British on 28 and 29 October, and the British handed over the island to Cassar. He subsequently ruled Gozo as a kind of independent state, recognizing Ferdinand III of Sicily as king. Cassar also petitioned for establishing Gozo as a separate diocese (the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gozo was eventually created in 1864).
The Maltese Congress of Mdina (ruled by the British) disapproved of Cassar's actions, and on 20 August 1801 the British appointed Emmanuele Vitale as Governor of Gozo instead of Cassar.
Cassar died on 16 December 1805 at the age of 58. In 2005 a monument to him was inaugurated in Gozo
On 2 September 1798, the Maltese rebelled against the French in Mdina, requesting to return under the "Kingdom of Sicily" rule. Word spread and the Gozitans revolted on 3 September. The archpriest and parish priest of the town of Rabat, Saverio Cassar, was chosen as the revolt's leader on 18 September. The rebel headquarters was established in the Banca Giuratale (which is now the seat of the Victoria Local Council). Saverio Cassar (who was born in a Sicilian family resident in the Maltese islands since the XIV century) organized the dejma ("decima" in Italian) and collected money to pay the troops under his command. Pro-French partisans were arrested, including three canons.
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