In Rome, on Sunday 19th December, at 9.30 a.m., Friar John Abela OFM, left this earth to join the Father. The whole Order of Friars Minor is dismayed by the loss of this very dear brother. The bond of the Custody with Father John was very strong.
Born in Rabat (Malta) in 1954, he entered the Order in 1972 and in 1974 studied theology in Jerusalem. In 1978 he was ordained a priest. He devoted himself greatly to the study of archaeology, working with his friend and teacher Friar Michelle Piccirillo, who also returned to the Father just over a year ago. It is to him that these very pages which remember him today owe their existence. He created the first Internet site of the Custody and kept it updated for over ten years, realizing the potential of this new means of communication which was then in its early days, and the need to use it to talk about the Holy Land.
In his message of condolence, the Father Custos recalled Father John in how he gave himself without limits until the end, to spread the message of the Holy Places and the activities of the Order and underlined how this was his way of giving a voice to Jesus and to St. Francis. Since 1997 he had worked in Rome, in the Communication Department of the OFM General Curia, of which he was director.
In his funeral homily, the Minister General, OFM, Fr. José Rodriguez Carballo, remembered Father John as a friend and companion of studies and invited us to reflect on how, in the face of such a premature loss, only the awareness that we are part of a greater design can give an answer to our grief. The Lord can call us to him in the morning, in the middle of the day or in the evening of our lives, Fr. José reminded us, what is important is to be ready and willing like the Virgin Mary in her “yes” that we meditate in this Christmas period and to bring to fruit in this time the gifts that the Lord has put at our disposal, exactly as Father John did.
All the staff who work today on the site of the Custody join in remembering and praying for Father John Abela, grateful for all his pioneering work in this field of information. The funeral of Father John was held on Monday 20th December in Rome, whilst his body will be taken to Malta where his family lives.
Marco Gavasso
Born in Rabat (Malta) in 1954, he entered the Order in 1972 and in 1974 studied theology in Jerusalem. In 1978 he was ordained a priest. He devoted himself greatly to the study of archaeology, working with his friend and teacher Friar Michelle Piccirillo, who also returned to the Father just over a year ago. It is to him that these very pages which remember him today owe their existence. He created the first Internet site of the Custody and kept it updated for over ten years, realizing the potential of this new means of communication which was then in its early days, and the need to use it to talk about the Holy Land.
In his message of condolence, the Father Custos recalled Father John in how he gave himself without limits until the end, to spread the message of the Holy Places and the activities of the Order and underlined how this was his way of giving a voice to Jesus and to St. Francis. Since 1997 he had worked in Rome, in the Communication Department of the OFM General Curia, of which he was director.
In his funeral homily, the Minister General, OFM, Fr. José Rodriguez Carballo, remembered Father John as a friend and companion of studies and invited us to reflect on how, in the face of such a premature loss, only the awareness that we are part of a greater design can give an answer to our grief. The Lord can call us to him in the morning, in the middle of the day or in the evening of our lives, Fr. José reminded us, what is important is to be ready and willing like the Virgin Mary in her “yes” that we meditate in this Christmas period and to bring to fruit in this time the gifts that the Lord has put at our disposal, exactly as Father John did.
All the staff who work today on the site of the Custody join in remembering and praying for Father John Abela, grateful for all his pioneering work in this field of information. The funeral of Father John was held on Monday 20th December in Rome, whilst his body will be taken to Malta where his family lives.
Marco Gavasso