FR MARIO ATTARD OFM Cap was born in San Gwann on August 26 1972. After being educated in governmental primary and secondary schools as well as at the Naxxar Trade School he felt the call to enter the Franciscan Capuchin Order. After obtaining the university requirements he entered the Capuchin friary at Kalkara on October 12 1993. A year after he was ordained a priest, precisely on 4 September 2004, his superiors sent him to work with patients as a chaplain first at St. Luke's Hospital and later at Mater Dei. In 2007 Fr Mario obtained a Master's Degree in Hospital Chaplaincy from Sydney College of Divinity, University of Sydney, Australia. Currently, he is one of the six chaplains working at Mater Dei Hospital. Furthermore, he is a regular contributor in the MUMN magazine IL-MUSBIEĦ and hosts radio programmes about the spiritual care of the sick.
The feast of St Charles Borromeo, the famous Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 as well as a cardinal, brought to my mind and heart his great passion for the reform and education of the Catholic clergy. The sermon which we read at the Office of...
I have been graced by God to be born on August 26, 1972. As you know, August 26 is the Solemn Feast Day of Our Lady of Czestochowa, the Queen and Protectress of Poland. My beloved parents got married on August 25, 1957. History has it that August 25...
On 28 September we celebrated the liturgical memorial of Blessed Innocenzo da Berzo. Br Innocenzo came from Northern Italy, precisely from Niardo in Valcamonica, in the kingdom of Lombardy where he was born on 19 March, feast day of St Joseph, in...
Now that we have celebrated the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7th, the Spirit is showing us the great importance that needs to be given to this magnificent Marian prayer. The Rosary should certainly have a decisive role to play in our...
Recently I had the grace of following the module Early Jewish and Christian archeology and art in the course, The Beginnings of Christianity within First Century Judaism, organized by the Pastoral Formation Programme of our Archdiocese of...
On Thursday 18 August 2022, we celebrated the feast of St Helen. In Malta, in Birkirkara, we celebrated with great jubilation her feast on Sunday 21 August 2022. Who was Helen? History tells us that she was the mother of Constantine the Great, a...
I purposely opted to name this experience as witness and not as a simple experience because what I am going to say has clearly been the work of God’s power! And certainly not mine, a sinner! I still remember the chapter meeting we had, as Capuchin...
The feast of the nativity of St John the Baptist is certainly characterised by joy, which the Latin word for it is gaudium. Interestingly enough we are not talking about felicitas, happiness, but gaudium, joy. The collect for the Mass during...
