Malta’s Oldest Priest Celebrates 100th Birthday
Fr Ġulju Bonnici, Malta’s oldest priest, celebrated his 100th birthday on 10th November, surrounded by fellow Augustinians at the Dar tal‑Kleru in Birkirkara.
Born in Valletta in 1925 to Karmenu and Manwela Bonnici, he joined the Augustinian order as a novice in Victoria, Gozo in 1941 and was ordained at St John’s Co‑Cathedral in March 1950.
His first posting as a priest was at the community of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Paceville from 1950‑52, a time when the area was far quieter than it is today.
Fr Bonnici had a lifelong passion for mathematics, which led him to the United States in 1961 where he earned an MA in Mathematics from Villanova University in Pennsylvania. “They didn’t even know where Malta was,” he recalled with a smile.
On returning to Malta, he served as rector of St Augustine College during its relocation from Tarxien to Pietà, and later worked at the Church of St Augustine in Valletta, and oversaw the Augustinian Province’s property matters through crucial transfer negotiations in the 1980s and early 1990s.
When the time came, he moved to the Home for Elderly Clergy in Birkirkara, where he has lived for the past four years.
Celebrating his century of life, he attributes his longevity to two simple principles: “Do what makes you happy and listen to what God tells you to do.”
At the birthday gathering, current students from the Pietà school which he once helped lead sent their best wishes, and a special Mass was held in the evening in his honour.
Fr Bonnici’s story spans education, religious service, international study, and decades of ministry and now a milestone century marked with gratitude, reflection and admiration.
Happy birthday Fr Bonnici!
Credit: Newsbook, Maltese Augustinian Province
READ NEXT: Malta Moves Closer To Legalising Living Wills
