On May 9, 2001, Pope John Paul II beatified three witnesses of faith in Malta. Among them was also Carmelite tertiary, apostle of the laity George (George) Preca. The beatification ceremony was attended by 150,000 people, which is almost half of the entire population of Malta.
George Preca was born on February 12, 1880, in the capital of Malta, Valletta, in a large Christian family. He studied at the best high school in Malta and then at the seminary. Even as a child, he was often ill, and after receiving the diaconate ordination, he fell so seriously ill that there was almost no hope for his recovery. However, through the intercession of St. Joseph, he was healed and was ordained a priest on December 22, 1906.
Father Preca, known in Malta as Dun George, felt called to teach those who urgently needed religious education even before his ordination. As early as 1906, he had a rule written in Latin for a community of permanent deacons who would help bishops in the Christian formation of believers. He intended to present this rule for approval to Pope Pius X. However, shortly afterward, he modified this project. He himself began to form a group of young men so that they would later be able to teach others. One of his first students, a young worker from the Maltese docks, Servant of God Eugen Borg, later became the first general superior of the Society that Preca founded.
The community named the Society of Christian Doctrine (Society of Christian Doctrine; SDC) was founded in Hamrun, Malta, in early 1907. In the beginning, the brothers suffered from a lack of everything except brotherly love and sound Christian teaching. They chose as their motto the letters M.U.S.E.U.M., which are the initials of the Latin "Magister Utinam Sequatur Evangelium Universus Mundus," translated: "Divine Teacher, may the whole world follow the Gospel!"1
However, not everyone received Father George’s vision of religious education for the laity positively. Some even interpreted his good intentions negatively. Presenting the Bible and theology in a way that workers and laypeople could understand was indeed a revolutionary idea at the time. Even more shocking was Blessed George's dream of forming laypeople—men and women—who would then proclaim God's word to others. His Society and his rule were approved by the Maltese bishop after 25 years.
At that time, when there were few state schools and school attendance was not mandatory, centers for Catholic education led by the Society gradually opened in one parish after another. People urgently needed religious education. Their Christian life was largely based only on receiving sacraments and popular piety, without a true understanding of the Church's teaching. For the children and young people who attended Father George's centers daily, catechists prepared not only lessons but also various outings and games.
From the very beginning, Father Preca wanted to teach both young and adult people, but the most important for him remained the formation of zealous celibate catechists from his Society. After finishing the education of children and adults, the catechists are required to spend one hour each day in common prayer and formation.
Father Preca also taught with his books. At that time, Italian and English were competing among themselves in Malta. However, George Preca wrote in Maltese, the language of ordinary people, so that everyone could understand him. He wrote around 150 publications—from books to brochures. He also compiled many prayers. From them, we recognize him as a mystic who constantly sought God in everything that surrounded him. He had a special reverence for the mystery of the Incarnation and for the words from the Gospel of St. John: "Verbum caro factum est" (The Word became flesh, John 1:14). Blessed Father Preca was also a very sought-after confessor because he could comfort. It even seems that through his ministry there were also healings.
In 1950, Father Preca himself sent six members of the Society to evangelize in Australia. In addition, today, the centers of the SDC Society are also located in Albania, Kenya, Sudan, and Great Britain. The charisma of Father George is still alive, and many experience a calling to serve in his Society.
Father George Preca died in Malta in the village of Santa Venera on July 26, 1962. His remains are buried near the mother house of the Society in Blata l-Bajda. The optional memorial of this new blessed is celebrated on May 9.
Translated from English by Monika Kršková.
