Emanuele Gerada KC*HS (18 May 1920 – 21 January 2011) was a
Maltese
Maltese may refer to:
* Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta
* Maltese alphabet
* Maltese cuisine
* Maltese culture
* Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people
* Maltese people, people from Malta or of Malte ...
prelate of the
Roman Catholic Church, a Vatican diplomat and
titular Archbishop of
Nomentum. One Maltese obituary recalled him as "a generous, well-read and intelligent man."
Biography
Gerada was born in
Malta and ordained a priest on 1 August 1943 for the
Archdiocese of Malta. He studied in Rome for a doctorate in canon law and joined the Vatican's diplomatic service, in which he served for most of his career.
He was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Malta (then to
Coadjutor Archbishop in 1968) and
titular Bishop of Nomentum on 15 February 1967 and was consecrated on 18 June 1967. A former priest-secretary recalled at the time of his death that one of Gerada's achievements was an improvement in the relations between the Maltese Church and the Labour Party. Such had been the deterioration in the relationship that Catholic Labour supporters were denied burial in the consecrated section of cemeteries and voting Labour was declared a mortal sin. But Gerada negotiated an agreement acceptable to both sides.
Gerada resumed his diplomatic career with the
Holy See when he was appointed
apostolic nuncio to
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
and
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
on 8 November 1973. In this post he was said to lobby for the appointment of
Archbishop Oscar Romero
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 archdi ...
but Gerada later objected when Romero cancelled many Sunday masses after the state-sponsored murder of Jesuit priest Fr Rutilio Grande in 1977.
On 15 October 1980 he was appointed apostolic pro-nuncio to
Pakistan and served until his appointment as
Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland
The Apostolic Nunciature to Ireland the diplomatic mission of the Holy See to Ireland. It is located in Dublin. The position of Apostolic Nuncio is currently vacant.
The Apostolic Nunciature to Ireland is an ecclesiastical office of the Cathol ...
on 4 February 1989. His arrival in Ireland was greeted warmly coming after the rather austere and conservative Archbishop Gaetano Alibrandi. Gerada played a key role when the Vatican attempted to silence Bishop
Brendan Comiskey because of his views on priestly celibacy.
Later reports said a priest with suspicions about the deviant behaviour of Fr
Brendan Smyth
Brendan Smyth O.Praem (8 June 1927 – 22 August 1997) was a Catholic priest from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who became notorious as a child molester, using his position in the Catholic Church to obtain access to his victims. During a period ...
wrote to Archbishop Gerada.
Gerada retired on 17 October 1995 and died on 21 January 2011.
See also
*
Archdiocese of Malta
References
External links
Catholic-HierarchyArchdiocese of Malta
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerada, Emanuele
Archbishops of Malta
Apostolic Nuncios to Ireland
Apostolic Nuncios to El Salvador
Roman Catholic titular archbishops
20th-century Roman Catholic titular bishops
1920 births
2011 deaths
Maltese expatriates
Apostolic Nuncios to Pakistan
Auxiliary bishops of Malta
Expatriates in Pakistan