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Our Founder
The history of the Missionary society of St. Paul had its beginnings in the early 1900s. Mgr. Joseph De Piro was born in Mdina, Malta on November 2nd, 1877 to the Noble Alessandro dei Marchesi De Piro and Ursola, neé Agius, the seventh of nine children. Mgr. De Piro excelled in the art of painting during his primary and secondary education. He entered the Royal University of Malta as a student in the Faculty of Arts & Sciences where he studied for three years. Between 1897 and 1898 he started reading law. While still at the University he also served in the Royal Malta Militia. At the young age of 21, he felt the call to the priesthood and on May 8th, 1898 while praying to our Lady of Pompei, decided that he should follow the vocation. In 1898 he enrolled as a student at the Carpranica College, beginning his studies in Philosophy and Theology at the Georgian University in Rome. He was ordained priest at St. John Lateran on the 15th of March, 1902. Between 1902 and 1904, he convalesced from TB at Davos in Switzerland. He returned to Malta in 1904 and spent three years of pastoral work in the Parish of Qrendi. In 1907 he was appointed Director of Fra Diegu's Orphanage for Girls in Hamrun. In 1911 he was nominated canon of the Cathedral of Malta. In 1915, the then new Archbishop of Malta appointed Mgr. De Piro as his secretary. Mgr. De Piro served as Rector of the Major Seminary of Malta in Mdina between 1918 and 1920. During that same period, Mgr De Piro was one of the Maltese leaders during the Sette Giugno disturbances of 1919. In 1920, he was nominated dean of the Cathedral Chapter. During this period, Mgr. De Piro was a member of the National Assembly In 1921 the National Assembly was able to bring a new Constitution to the Maltese islands. During 1922 Mgr. De Piro served as a substitute parish priest for seven months in Gudja. Mgr. De Piro also served as director of various orphanages, including:
In 1930 he served as intermediary between the CHurch and Lord Strickland. Continuing his involvement in Maltese politics, a common practice by church members in the early history of Malta, Mgr. De Piro served as a Senator in the third Maltese Parliament. Mgr. De Piro died on the 17th of September 1933 at the age of 56 when he collapsed during a liturgical service at St. Cejtan's Parish Church in Hamrun. The MSSP is based st St. Agatha's in Rabat, Malta.
In 1910, Mgr. De Piro founded the Missionary Society of St. Paul. as a congregation of priests and lay brothers living a religious life with an emphasis on missionary work. Fr. Guzepp Caruana, who was one of the first members of the society, was the first missionay sent abroad by the founder. Fr. Guzepp Caruana travelled to Ethiopia in 1927 and stayed there for 48 years, never returning to Malta. The work of the society in Peru and Pakistan consists of assisting parishes and helping poor people. The aim of the society is to help build catholic communities, even in area where the majority of people are of other faiths, as is the case in Pakistan. In Australia and the United Sates of America, as well as Canada, the Missionary Society of St. Paul works with emigrants from various cultures. The Society also works to increase the missionary spirit in these countries. In Malta, the Society is continuing in the footsteps of its founder, fostering the missionary flames amongst Maltese catholics. At the same time, the Society is looking at a future in the Philippines and later on in the African continent.
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Last updated: Monday, May 03, 1999 6:36:32 AM |
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