Mgr Joseph Galea-Curmi appointed Auxiliary Bishop

Pope Francis has appointed Monsignor Joseph Galea-Curmi as Auxiliary Bishop of Malta, nominating him Titular Bishop of Cebarades.

As Auxiliary Bishop, Mgr Galea-Curmi, 54, will be the closest collaborator and advisor of Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna, with leadership responsibilities in the Curia and in diocesan pastoral ministry.

On his Episcopal ordination, Mgr GaleaCurmi will become a member of the Maltese Episcopal Conference alongside the Archbishop and the Bishop of Gozo, Mgr Mario Grech.

The appointment was announced officially on Saturday by the Apostolic Nuncio Alessandro d’Errico, following the request made by Archbishop Scicluna.

Commenting after the announcement, Mgr d’Errico said that the role of auxiliary bishop does not only mean assistance to the Curia when Mgr Scicluna is away, but would also require help in the day-to-day running of the Church in Malta.

He said that Mgr Scicluna’s work takes him abroad several times during the year, and his work is also appreciated by the Vatican in other missions, as has recently happened in his double mission to Chile.

Mgr Scicluna said that the Episcopal ordination will take place on 4 August.

Mgr Galea-Curmi was born of the late Paul and Josette née Mifsud Bonnici, in Birkirkara, on 1 January 1964, and is the third of six children. Mgr Galea-Curmi was educated at Stella Maris School, Balzan, at the Secondary School of St Paul’s Missionary College, Rabat, and at St Aloysius College (Sixth Form), Birkirkara.

He entered the Archbishop’s Seminary in 1982. After completing his studies and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology at the Faculty of Theology, he was ordained priest by the Archbishop of Malta, Monsignor Joseph Mercieca, on 5 July 1991. Mgr Galea-Curmi was sent to further his studies at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome and obtained a doctorate in Pastoral Theology in 1998. His doctoral thesis was entitled ‘The Diocesan Synod as a Pastoral Event: A Study of the Post-Conciliar Understanding of the Diocesan Synod’.

After his studies in Rome, Mgr Galea-Curmi was appointed assistant to the Pastoral Secretary of the Archdiocese of Malta and lecturer in Pastoral Theology at the University of Malta, where he still lectures. He was also the coordinator of the Archdiocesan Synod held between 1999 and 2003. In 2005 he was appointed to the board of the Diocesan Institute for Pastoral Formation, and in 2008 Ecclesiastical Assistant of the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation (Malta).

In 2015, Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna appointed Mgr Galea-Curmi Vicar-General of the Archdiocese of Malta and Canon of the Cathedral Chapter.

He carries out his pastoral ministry at the Parish Church of the Annunciation in Balzan.

According to sources speaking to this newspaper, Mgr Scicluna had asked for more assistance given the workload that he has undertaken in recent months, including his two visits to Chile as papal envoy following the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the South American country.