Ambrose Agius,

O.S.B. , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

(17 September 1856 – 13 December 1911) was a Maltese

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

. A member of the

Benedictine Order , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

, Agius was appointed the Apostolic Delegate to the Philippines by

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of ...

in 1904. Agius was delegated to canonically crown the image of

Our Lady of La Naval de Manila Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary — La Naval de Manila ( Spanish: ''Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario - La Naval de Manila''; Tagalog: ''Mahal na Ina ng Santo Rosaryo ng La Naval de Manila''; is a venerated title of the Blessed Virgin Mar ...

in 1907. He founded the first Benedictine monastery in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, and consecrated the first Filipino

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

in the

Early life

Agius was born on 17 September 1856, in the Egyptian city of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

(then under the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

), the second son (third child) of a Maltese merchant named Tancredi Agius and his wife Saveria Sammut. Tancredi's children were: * Edward Agius: 1849 - 1924 * Giulia Agius: 1854 - 1932 * Tancredi Alfred: 1856 - 1911 * Edgar Agius: 1864 - 1935 * Robert Agius: 1868 - 1874 Agius was baptized as ''Tancredi Alfred Agius'' at Saint Catherine's Cathedral in Alexandria on 5 November 1856. He returned with his family to Malta during his early years. Agius attended the college operated by the monks of Abbey of Saint Augustine in

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to the Census, there was a populati ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England, where he was an outstanding student. After he had completed his studies in 1872, he felt called to join the monastic community of the abbey. At his first profession of

monastic vows Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important rol ...

, he was given the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for a religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should not be "foreign ...

of ''Ambrose''. On 12 October 1873, he professed his perpetual vows and was then sent by his

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. Th ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to complete his studies in philosophy and theology.

Priesthood

Agius was ordained into the Catholic priesthood on 16 October 1881, at Subiaco Abbey. He became greatly immersed in Maltese culture as he traveled extensively in his early years. In May 1881, Agius was instructed by the Holy See to open the first Catholic monastery in Malta. In December 1881, Agius, along with a group of Benedictine monks settled in Nigret,

Żurrieq Żurrieq ( mt, Iż-Żurrieq ) is a town in the Southern Region of Malta. It is one of the oldest towns in the country, and it has a population of 11,823 inhabitants as of March 2014. The first documentation about it being a parish dates back to ...

. Under his supervision, a canonical religious community was begun, and a

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

open to international candidates was set up. It was dedicated to the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

. In 1884, the monastery was closed due to Italian-Maltese political turmoil, and Agius returned to

to continue his religious mission. In 1893, he was appointed secretary to the

Procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * ''Procurator'' (Ancient Rome), the title o ...

of the Subiaco Congregation by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...

Appointment to the Philippines

On 24 August 1904,

appointed Agius as the Apostolic Delegate to the Philippines. He was appointed

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early secon ...

on 3 September 1904, and received his episcopal

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on 18 September 1904, at

Sant'Ambrogio della Massima Sant'Ambrogio della Massima (also Sant'Ambrogio alla Massima) is a Roman Catholic church in rione Sant'Angelo, Rome, Italy, that perhaps dates to the 4th century. It was a convent until it became the subject of a Vatican investigation in the 1 ...

by the

Cardinal Secretary of State The Secretary of State of His Holiness (Latin: Secretarius Status Sanctitatis Suae, it, Segretario di Stato di Sua Santità), commonly known as the Cardinal Secretary of State, presides over the Holy See's Secretariat of State, which is the ...

Rafael Merry del Val Rafael Merry del Val y Zulueta, (10 October 1865 – 26 February 1930) was a Spanish Roman Catholic cardinal. Before becoming a cardinal, he served as the secretary of the papal conclave of 1903 that elected Pope Pius X, who is said to have ...

. Upon his appointment, Agius donated his celebration funds to the impoverished parishioners of the

Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio The Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio (official name: ''Basilica romana minore collegiata abbaziale prepositurale di Sant'Ambrogio'') is a church in the center of Milan, northern Italy. History One of the most ancient churches in Milan, it was built by ...

. In the Philippines, Agius canonically crowned the ivory statue of the

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval de Manila Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary — La Naval de Manila (Spanish: ''Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario - La Naval de Manila''; Tagalog: ''Mahal na Ina ng Santo Rosaryo ng La Naval de Manila''; is a venerated title of the Blessed Virgin Mary ...

on 5 October 1907, representing Pope Pius. Agius convoked the 1907 Provincial Council of Manila with the other bishops of the nation at

Manila Cathedral The Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception ( fil, Basilika Menor at Kalakhang Katedral ng Kalinis-linisang Paglilihi; es, Basílica Menor y Catedral Metropolitana de la Inmaculada Concepción), also known as the ...

, re-dedicating the Philippines to the

, which later became the country's official patroness under the pontificate of

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

in September 1942. As Filipinos were previously barred from priestly ordinations and officially joining religious orders under Spanish colonial rule, on 29 June 1906, Agius ordained the first Filipino bishop in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, Jorge Barlin y Imperial.

Death and burial

On November 1911, Pope Pius appointed Agius as the new

Papal Legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

to the United States. While preparing to travel to Rome, he died of an acute attack of

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part o ...

on December 13, at 55 years of age. On 15 December 1911, Agius was given a solemn

Requiem Mass A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

and was buried in the underground crypt of the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Manila. The tomb survived the destruction of the cathedral due to bombing during the Battle of Manila in 1945. His remains were set into a smaller casket and moved to a new grave inside the Benedictine Abbey Church of Our Lady of Montserrat in Manila. The inscription translates as: Plaque in St Augustine's Ramsgate

A memorial plaque was added to those for all the monks of Ramsgate Abbey in St Augustine's Church, Ramsgate with an inscription that translates as:

Nicknames

Agius was baptised as ''Tancredi Alfred Agius'' but was called ''Alfredo'' by his Italian-speaking parents or ''Alfred'', when at school in Ramsgate (1871 Census). After taking his perpetual vows Agius became known as Dom Ambrose but was commonly referred to as ''Padre Ambrosio'', ''Padre Ambo'' or ''Father Dom'' by the Filipino and Maltese faithful who knew him.

References