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Nazju
Falzon 1813
– 1865 Venerable Nazju Falzon was a man endowed with many
talents which he put to good use obtaining degrees both in law and
theology. He was very fluent
in English. He was also a source of enlightenment and encouragement to a number
of children hailing from poor backgrounds as well as a number of British
servicemen stationed in Malta. Family
background.
Nazju Falzon was born in Valletta on the
1st July 1813. He came
from a very distinguished family that was a very religious one as well. His father, Francis Joseph was a Judge
and his mother, Mary Teresa was the daughter of Judge Calcedonio Debono. He was baptized at the Church of Porto
Salvo in Valletta. There were four boys in the family, and all graduated
in law. Two of them went on to become priests: Father Kalcidon who eventually
became the Treasurer of the Cathedral Chapter and Father Francis who was very
much sought after for spiritual counseling. Another brother, Anthony, was a
lawyer and married with a family. Cleric.
At 15 years of age, Nazju received the Minor Orders
and in spite of graduating with a degree in theology, he did not feel worthy to
be ordained priest, hence he did not want to go further than the Minor
Orders. His first pastoral activity involved the teaching of
catechism to the children at the Institute of the Good Shepherd, first as the
Church of Sta. Barbara and later at that of our Lady of Victory. He used to help the children not only in
their studies but also financially. His
biggest contribution
Nazju Falzon will be best remembered in the religious
circles of Malta for his unstinting work among the British servicemen especially
where the teaching of Catechism was concerned. This ended up being the most important
and unique apostolate that he ever undertook and was to remain his
distinguishing mark. In the
beginning, his own home in Strait Street was the meeting place where he used to
gather the soldiers and sailors.
However, as the numbers grew, he moved to the Jesuits’ Church in
Valletta. For these people he founded as well the Congregation of the Rosary
that came to be known simply as ‘The Congregation.’ He also wrote a book titled “The Comfort
of the Christian Soul”. To make it
easier for the servicemen to understand their Faith, he saw to it to bring
‘religious’ books from abroad in their vernacular. All of this earned Nazju Falzon the blind trust of
the servicemen. Knowing about his
law degree, they would approach him for advice on legal matters as well and
quite often he would serve as the go-between with the families back in their
homeland. Before going to the
battlefield, the servicemen would entrust to his safekeeping their most personal
belongings, including gold adornments, jewelry and other things of sentimental
value. They knew that should they end up missing, he would forward them to their
loved ones. Hundreds of
baptisms.
In this period, Malta was often host to as many as
20,000 British servicemen at a time and Nazju Falzon was the one engaged in
teaching them Catechism. Many Protestants,
buddies of those under instruction, used to accompany their friends to
the sessions of ‘The Congregation’.
He organized them into different sections according to the different
levels. There were more than 650 such servicemen that must have been baptized as
a result of this ministry. The Ven. Nazju Falzon used to follow the progress of
those baptized right up to their marriage especially those who went on to date
and get engaged to Maltese girls. We must remember that this was the
pre-ecumenical era when Canon Law allowed only exceptionally marriages between
Catholics and ‘other’ Christians.
On top of all this, in Malta’s traditionally Catholic families, such
‘mixed’ marriages were looked upon with disapproval. Nazju Falzon used to encourage the
converts to receive the Scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and would administer
the Sacrament of the Sick as and when needed. Some of the co-workers of Nazju Falzon went on to
become priests and Military or Naval Chaplains. Fr. Cullens, who himself became a priest
due to the encouragement of Fr. Falzon eventually took over the apostolate with
the servicemen after the latter had passed away. His death
The Ven. Nazju Falzon died on his very birthday,
1st July 1865 at the age of 52. He was buried in the family vault in
the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception in the Church of the Franciscan Minors,
Mary of Jesus, Valletta. His reputation for holiness and hence devotion spread
fast not only in Malta but also in those locations wherever Maltese used to
emigrate. Three years after his death, the Bishop of Malta, Gajetan Pace Forno
OSA had his body exhumed and placed at the entrance of the same Church. Beatification Process
As soon as the process for beatification began, the
Bishops of England, who had heard of the wonderful work done by this Maltese
priest from the servicemen back in their own dioceses, were among the first to
write ‘postulatory letters’ requesting the commencement of the beatification
process.
On the 23rd October 1987, the Ven. Nazju
Falzon was declared to have practiced the theological and cardinal virtues to a
heroic degree. Miraculous
Healing. Among the Church’s requirements for the declaration
that a person lived a holy life, there must be proof of some special, specific
‘miraculous’ intervention. This happened to a gentleman born in 1937 and still
alive today. He was the recipient of a miraculous healing at the intercession of
the Venerable Nazju Falzon. On
3rd June 1981 this gentleman was operated for a tumor and his
situation became rather precarious. The doctors were of the opinion that he
would neither recover still less survive. Prayers were made for the intercession
of the Ven. Nazju Falzon. The man says that after the operation he remained
fearful but did not feel any pain.
On the 15th June he left the hospital without ever undergoing
the chemotherapy treatment. The
doctors declare that the tumor disappeared completely. Once the Ecclesiastical
Tribunal gathered all the relevant data and testimonials from the witnesses,
these were sent them to Rome according to the norms set up by the Holy See. The decision of the Congregation for the
Cause of Sainthood was taken on 19th February 2001 and it was
declared that according to the report of the five medical experts engaged by
them, the cure was completely miraculous.
Source:
ARCHDIOCESE OF MALTA - PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE  |
Copyright © 2001 [The
Hagiography Circle]. All rights reserved.
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