Saint George Preca

George Franco Preca, T.OCarm (in Maltese: Ġorġ Preca) (12 February 1880 – 26 July 1962) was a Maltese Catholic priest, the founder of the Society of Christian Doctrine and a Third Order Carmelite. Pope John Paul II dubbed him "Malta’s second father in faith". He assumed the religious name of "Franco" after becoming a Third Order Carmelite. He was a popular figure among some groups, and his pastoral care and religious teaching earned recognition. However, his activities raised suspicions of heresy from senior clergy. He was ordered to close down his teaching centres for a time while they could be investigated; they were subsequently re-opened. His activism earned him praise and in 1952, Pope Pius XII nominated him as a papal privy chamberlain and awarded the rank of Monsignor. In 1957 he composed five new mysteries for the Rosary for his followers which he referred to as the "Mysteries of Light". These seemed to have been the basis for the 5 Luminous Mysteries promoted by Saint John Paul II in 2002 in his Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae. He was canonized as a saint in 2007. George Preca was born in Valletta on 12 February 1880 as the seventh of nine children of Vincent and Nathalie Ceravolo Preca. His father was both a merchant and a health inspector. He received his baptism on 17 February 1880 in the Church of Our Lady of Porto Salvo. Preca was a frail child due to a range of illnesses he had and in 1885 almost drowned in the harbour though boatmen rescued him. In 1886, the family relocated to Ħamrun. He received both his First Communion at some stage in his childhood and then his Confirmation on 2 August 1888 in the Parish Church of St. Cajetan, Ħamrun. In 1897, while walking along with the Maglio Gardens in Floriana, Ġorġ Preca met one of his professors, Father Ercole Mompalao, who encouraged his religious vocation.