Dun gorg preca u giannina braschi

St Gorg Preca (1880-1962)

Born in Valletta on 12 February 1880, Gorg was the seventh child in a middle-class family of nine.

His father, Vincenzo Preca, was first a merchant and then a sanitary inspector. His mother, Natalina Ceravolo was a teacher. He was baptized 5 days later. In 1888, the Preca family moved to Hamrun, then a fast-growing town.

Dun gorg preca u giannina braschi 3

Gorg received his Confirmation and his first Holy Communion at the parish church of St Cajetan. One day when he was 17 years old, Gorg was walking along the Mall Gardens in Floriana where he met one of his lyceum professors, Fr Ercole Mompalao, who told him: “Preca, you will grow up and will be befriended by people who respect God.

You will be blessed because of them, and they because of you...”

Feeling that he was being called to join the priesthood, he moved from the lyceum to the seminary where as a young student, he distinguished himself in his studies, especially in Latin.

His ordination seemed in jeopardy as Go