A new Archbishop for Malta

My home country of Malta has a new Archbishop, Msgr. Charles Scicluna, born while his parents were in Toronto, Canada, on 15 May 1959. They moved to Malta a year later where Msgr Charles was educated in a local public school as well as a private High School. He entered the Law Course at the University of Malta in 1976 and he graduated Doctor of Laws in 1984. After completing his Seminary studies and a Licentiate in Pastoral Theology at the Faculty of Theology, Malta, he was ordained a priest on July 11, 1986. 

Father Charles Scicluna being ordained in 1986

Right away, he was sent to read Canon Law at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and obtained the doctorate in Canon Law with specialization in Jurisprudence in 1991. After his Rome studies Mgr Scicluna worked on the Malta Metropolitan Tribunal as Defender of the Bond and was lecturer in Pastoral Theology and Canon Law at the University of Malta. At the same time he served in various parishes, and also served as Vice Rector at the Major Seminary between 1994 and 1995 when he was called to the Vatican to work on the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Segnatura as Substitute Promoter of Justice. In 1996 he was appointed Postulator for the cause of beatification and canonization of Dun Gorg Preca, who became the first Maltese Saint. In October 2002, Monsignor Scicluna was nominated Promoter of Justice at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, working very closely to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict. He was responsible for investigating and prosecuting the more grave crimes reserved to the exclusive competence of the Congregation, especially in the aftermath of the sex-abuse scandal. He has also lectured widely on issues concerning child protection in the Church, visiting a number of local churches in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Australia, while being a Visiting Lecturer in Penal Processes at the Pontifical Gregorian University (Rome).

The Bishops of Malta and Gozo with their respective parents

On October 6th, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI nominated Mgr Scicluna as Auxiliary Bishop of Malta  and only 6 weeks later, he was nominated member of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. On 21st January 2015, Pope Francis nominated Mgr Scicluna as President of the Special College within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to hear appeals in processes concerning serious offences. He will be installed on March 21.