Pawl Cardona (22 January 1953 – 21 June 2023) was a Maltese

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

clergyman who served as the Episcopal vicar for the Clergy for the

Diocese of Gozo The Diocese of Gozo (; ) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Malta, and the only suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Malta, together covering the insular state. The diocese comprises the island of ...

. Prior to this he was the

Archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogo ...

of the Basilica of St George in

Victoria, Gozo Victoria (, meaning "the city Victoria"), also known among the native Maltese as Rabat (which is the name of the old town centre) or by its title Città Victoria, is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit of Malta, and the main town o ...

from 2007 to 2016.

Early years

Paul Cardona was born on 22 January 1953 in

Sannat Sannat () is an administrative unit of Malta, on the island of Gozo, with a population of 2,117 people (March 2014). Ta' Sannat is in the south of Gozo, popular for its very high cliffs, ancient cart ruts, temples and dolmens, and rich fauna an ...

Gozo Gozo ( ), known in classical antiquity, antiquity as Gaulos, is an island in the Malta#The Maltese archipelago, Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After the Malta Island, island of Malta ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

to Luigi Cardona and Rosina Sciberras. He attended the primary school of Sannat and the secondary school in

. He went on to enter the major Seminary of the Sacred Heart in Victoria, Gozo to study Philosophy in 1971 and Theology in 1973. He was ordained priest by Bishop Nikol Joseph Cauchi on 18 June 1977 in the Cathedral of the Assumption in Victoria.

Time in Italy

In September 1977 Cardona left for Italy where he started his ministry in the Diocese of Tivoli. On 4 December 1977, he was appointed parish priest of the parish of St Philip Neri in Colle Fiorito di Guidonia. During his time in this parish, Cardona built a pastoral complex for the parish use. Cardona served in this parish until May 1989. On 1 April 1989, Cardinal Ugo Poletti appointed Cardona as parish priest of the parish of San Liboria in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Cardona built a church and parish center dedicated to St Liborius. It was consecrated on 7 November 1998 followed by a visit by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on 17 January 1999. In 1997 Cardona was nominated as Prefect of the eleven prefectures of the

Diocese of Rome The Diocese of Rome (; ), also called the Vicariate of Rome, is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church under the direct jurisdiction of the pope, who is Bishop of Rome and hence the supreme pontiff and head of the worldwide Catholic Church. As ...

by Cardinal

Camillo Ruini Camillo Ruini (; born 19 February 1931) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was made a cardinal in 1991. He served as president of the Italian Episcopal Conference from 1991 to 2007 and as Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome from ...

. Moreover, in May 2000 he was appointed a member of the Commission of Sacred Art of the Diocese of Rome.

Archpriest of St George's

On 17 September 2007, Cardona was appointed Archpriest of the parish of St George in

by Bishop Mario Grech. He succeeded Dr. Joseph Farrugia as Archpriest. Cardona was installed as Archpriest of the parish on 4 November 2007. He was appointed Episcopal vicar for the Clergy on 4 November 2016.

Death

Cardona died on 21 June 2023, at the age of 70.Mgr Paul Cardona passes away at the age of 70
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardona, Paul 1953 births 2023 deaths 20th-century Maltese Roman Catholic priests 21st-century Maltese Roman Catholic priests People from Sannat