The Catholic Community in Kuwait heartily congratulates and prayerfully felicitates His Lordship Bishop (Emeritus) Francis Micallef, OCD, Third Vicar Apostolic of Kuwait, on celebrating 80 YEARS of life in the Lord. The Bishop turned 80 on 17th December 2008. He is currently visiting the State of Kuwait to meet the faithful.

Celebrations with Thanksgiving Masses marked the occasion in each of the three parishes of Kuwait. Today, hundreds braved the severe cold to attend the special Rosary followed by Mass concelebrated by H.L. Bishop Francis, H.L. Bishop Camillo, His Grace Archbishop El-Haschem and the Vicariate Clergy at the Holy Family Cathedral.

2nd Jan '09: St. Thérèse Parish, Salmiya, celebrates Bishop Francis' birthday.

H.L. BISHOP CAMILLO BALLIN PAYS GLOWING TRIBUTE TO
H.L. BISHOP (EMERITUS) FRANCIS MICALLEF AT THE HOLY MASS
AT THE HOLY FAMILY CATHEDRAL (3rd JAN 2009)

"Your Grace, Your Excellency Bishop Francis Micallef, Reverend Fathers, Reverend Sisters and my dear people,

We are here to greet a great man who has crossed over to eighty with a mind and heart still that of a vibrant youth. The life and activities of Bishop Francis Micallef need no further elaboration or introduction as most of you are eye witnesses to his dynamic presence as a dedicated pastor in Kuwait. Still for the sake of the new arrivals, may I draw a brief biographical sketch of Bishop Francis Micallef. He was born on 17th December, 1928, in a pious and devout Christian family from Birkirkara in Malta. His parents were George and Marianna. From the very early age, he was attracted to a religious life and became a professed member of the Carmelite Order which was the venue of his service to the Church until he arrived in Kuwait as its third Vicar Apostolic and Bishop in 1982.

The Church in Kuwait, by his powerful presence and able guidance, witnessed a great concentration of various vibrant ecclesial communities consisting of different linguistic and ritual migrants. Taking all of them into confidence and catering to their reasonable pastoral needs, Bishop Micallef became a champion of the Catholic faith in this part of the Gulf.

In 2005, Bishop Francis retired from the administrative responsibilities of the Vicariate. But even now I can never imagine that he left us for good. His pastoral zeal and love for the people of God keeps him always with us as an incentive for dedicated service.

“To see the bright side of people and things”: This was the force and ideal behind the 26 long years pastoral service of Bishop Micallef. As a man from the Pauline land of Malta, he had with him an ever burning zeal for the welfare of the flock entrusted to his care. The evangelical seal which the Apostle Paul imprinted on his native land, remained deeply impressed in the heart of Bishop Micallef from his early childhood days. It is with this very same enthusiasm Francis George entered the Carmelite Order to become Francis George Adeodatus OCD. He has proved himself to be a person always guided by an optimism coupled with realism. Once he was elevated to the Episcopate and became a full time pastor in Kuwait, he could stretch out his pastoral staff to any extent and the sheep felt its protecting touch as emerging from the very heart of their Shepherd.

Though Bishop Francis remains always a soft spoken and a matter of fact man in his dialogue, he became a man of courage and a strong believer in the Providence of God. It was like a ‘ship wreck’ for him when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991. When everybody was searching for safer zones, Bishop advised his clergy to escape together with the people. However, he preferred to remain back with the stranded people providing food and shelter for them. It was a time when people wanted support, safety and security of the Church. Bishop Francis became an umbrella wide enough to include every one running for shelter, shade and moral strength to those who were forced to stay back. A similar alertness and preparedness could be seen at the time of US- Iraqi war in 2003.

The situation he had to face on such occasion made him more courageous and confident to face it with a sense of optimism rooted deeply in him as a man of faith. The ascetic appearance of Bishop Francis both inside and outside might have been inherited from the life and teaching of St. Paul, the master mind behind his missionary zeal. His Carmelite heritage too has added further fragrance to his apostolic life as he became a real contemplative in action.

Dear Friends, now it is left to us to look back and see the long and tiresome ways we have travelled with Bishop Francis more than quarter of a century through this desert land. The sacrifices he and his fellow missionaries made for the spiritual nourishment of the migrant community here in Kuwait cannot be deleted with the passage of time nor with the change of people.

When we are fortunate to have him in our midst as a mighty man of eighty, our hearts are raised in gratitude towards the Almighty for this great gift of Bishop Micallef. It is also a time for us to feel ever more committed to keep our Christian identity and to stand for unity in diversity which is an ideal very much alive in his dreams . As we stand around this great man of God, to celebrate a thanksgiving Mass, let us pray that Jesus grant His Pastor many more years to taste the sweetness of the Lord and proclaim his greatness until his last breath."