A young Carmelite missionary who lost his life in a tragic accident in Bolivia (1944-1976)

There are many Maltese, priests, religious and lay people who have spent some time or have dedicated their whole life to the missions. Today we recall the Carmelite missionary Fr George Cassar who died in a traffic accident in Bolivia just over 40 years ago.

Fr George was born in Qormi on 20 September 1944, to Joseph and Maria nee Pace. They lived in their father’s parental home and thus George was baptized in the parish church of St George in Qormi. After the birth of their third child, they moved to Sliema.

The Cassar family consisted of four sisters and three brothers. Apart from George the eldest, who entered religious life, his Sister Adele, recently deceased, also went on to become an Ursuline sister, while their uncle Karm Pace, was also a Capuchin friar.

As a child, George attended primary school in Sliema, and later the Technical Institute in Paola. From a young age he was attracted to the Church. He used to frequent the Salesian Oratory where he taught children doctrine. His younger sister recalls how a group of youths would come home from the Oratory in the evening and sit on the porch outside their house where George would recite the rosary, and their mother would send her children inside so as not to disturb them.

George was a studious boy, calm and collected but he used to love playing football and singing. When he was about to enter religious life, a big issue arose. Many neighbours had already started visiting his home to congratulate him, when the Provincial sent for his father to tell him that George would not be accepted for religious life as his chest X-rays showed that he had a large black mark on one of his lungs. His father could not believe this, as George was a very active person who played football at any chance he got. His mother prayed so hard to Our Lady asking Her to interecede for her son. His uncle also intervened and took him to a private doctor for a second opinion. The end results came back negative. It was found that George had not removed his medal of Our Lady before the Xray which resulted in the black spot. This was indeed a great time of trial for the family.

Many relatives and friends thought that George would become a Salesian of Don Bosco, as he used to spend a lot of time at the Salesian Oratory, but Our Lady had different plans for him. In 1962 he entered as a novice in the Carmelite Priory in Mdina where he did his novitiate. On 6 October 1963 he took his first vows and three years later, on 28 October 1966, he made his solemn profession. He studied philosophy at the Balluta priory and theology at Inserm, which was the National Institute for Ecclesiastical studies for Maltese Religious. He was ordained on 20 December 1969 by Msgr Archbishop Michael Gonzi. His first mass was celebrated in the Sliema Parish church of the Sacred Heart. While he was residing at the Balluta priory, the Balluta Carmelite church was being built, and along with the other friars, he helped in its construction.

From the start of his priesthood he began to feel the vocation to be a missionary. He was appointed Moderator of the Carmelite Missions and the Missionary Bulletin magazine, for five years. He used to take care of the altar boys and later became spiritual director of the Legion of Mary and Procurator of the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Balluta.

During his first years of priesthood he had a serious traffic accident which made him reflect deeply on his life. When he recovered he was certain about his missionary vocation.

Following his calling to be a missionary to serve in Latin America with the Carmelite Missionaries he finally received his missionary cross to serve in Bolivia. He soon left Malta for La Paz where he began missionary work in the parish of the Virgin Mary of Pompei.

In his missionary village in Bolivia, he used a lot of energy to build a church, but sadly never saw it finished as he had another accident which was fatal. Just two months before this accident, the Carmelite friars in Germany had given him a van to help him manage his pastoral duties in his parish in Bolivia. On 28 February 1976, while he was on a long trip, transporting 11 passengers, he lost control of his vehicle and since there were no barricades, the vehicle went off the road and overturned. He and one other passenger lost their life. He was only 31 at the time.

His corpse was brought back to Malta and his funeral mass was concelebrated by 36 priests at the Santa Maria Addolorata cemetery church. He was later buried in the family tomb.

We pray that the Lord will grant more missionary vocations in our parishes.