Il-Ġublew tad-Deheb ta’ Mons. Ewkaristiku Sultana

Veritatem facientes in caritate translated as Speaking the truth in love is a citation from St Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians; it is also the name of a publication published by the parish of the Nativity of the Virgin of Xagħra, Gozo on the occasion of the golden jubilee of the presbyteral ordination of Mgr Ewkaristiku Sultana, who was archpriest of the Xagħra parish for 31 years. The publication was written by Gozitan notary and historian Dr Aaron Attard Hili. Hailing from Xagħra itself, Dr Attard Hili had the advantage of collecting such a great amount of first-hand information from people with whom he grew up and came to know very well. The main protagonist of the book, Mgr Sultana, was the parish priest who the author knew for the greater part of his life. These facts proved helpful in the collection of the material that eventually became the book that we can now go through and enjoy.

The book that Dr Attard Hili comprised together is a biography but not an entirely systematic one. While chronological in its presentation, the book also emphasises the most important moments in the life of Mgr Sultana who was archpriest of Xagħra from 1973 to around 2004. The first section of the book deals with the childhood and early years of Mgr Sultana’s priesthood together with the time he spent leading his native parish community. In this first section, which forms the main part of the book, the author provides us with detailed information about the life of the priest, the entire community of Xagħra and the entire diocese of Gozo has admired wholeheartedly especially for his love for vocations to the priesthood and priests in general. Twenty-two priests were ordained from Xagħra during the time he spent as archpriest in the parish and many more vocations to the priesthood are believed to have been inspired by his example. During the three decades that he spent at the helm of the parish he loved, Mgr Sultana was of great help to the late bishop of Gozo Mgr Nicholas J. Cauchi as the latter tried to implement the changes of the Second Vatican Council within the diocese of Gozo. The author makes his publication more interesting as he describes in such an able way the various episodes that make up the life of such a popular priest as Mgr Sultana. He also writes down some of the sayings attributed to him while brining into the limelight the great sense of integrity and paternal love for which Dun Karist is known by one and all.

The second section of the book is a reflection on the priesthood as lived by Mgr Sultana with special emphasis on the “loves” of his life especially the diocesan seminary which has now become synonymous with his name. Various people from different sectors of life write down their own views of Mgr Sultana and explain how their admiration for him grew as time went by. The book features many photos most of which are appearing in the public domain for the first time and without which the publication would have been a poor one indeed. There is hardly an aspect of Mgr Sultana’s life that has not been touched upon. After reading the biography the reader would be able to conclude that the diocese of Gozo would have been much poorer had it not been blessed by the presence of Mgr Ewkaristiku Sultana who is known all over the island of Gozo simply as Dun Karist. The diocese of Gozo itself would be entirely different without him considering the fact that he was the inspirational force behind dozens of vocations to the diocesan priesthood. It has to be mentioned that two bishops within the Franciscan Order were also close to him during their years of study and drank from his priestly spirituality. Dr Aaron Attard Hili is to be commended for not letting the opportunity to write the biography of such a meaningful life pass by. Veritatem Facientes in Caritatem is a biography of a true Gozitan and an authentic Catholic priest who for the love for his parish and country deserves to be called the “Doyen of the Gozitan Clergy” and whom I hope to see honoured with the Ġieħ ir-Repubblika award in the foreseeable future.