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Fr Emmanuel Magri,
s.j. |
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by Dr Carmel Mallia |
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Fr
Emmanuel Magri was born in Valletta on 27th
February 1851. In 1871 he joined the Jesuit
Order or, as it is known, the Society of
Jesus, at the Novitiate in Ireland, and
studied Philosophy at Stonyhurst, England;
he underwent his Regency at Santa Venera,
Malta, and his Theology in France and Spain.
He was ordained priest in Tortosa, Spain in
1881. Later he taught at St. Ignatius’
College, Sliema, and was Treasurer at the
College of Santa Pulcheria, Istanbul, Turkey
, Prefect of Studies at the Gozo Seminary,
Assistant to the Provincial of Sicily,
Rector of the Gozo Seminary, where he taught
Scripture and Hebrew and finally Jesuit
Superior in Catania. True to the well known
saying: Join the Jesuits and see the world.
Fr Magri died on 29th March 1907 in Sfax,
Tunisia, where he went to preach the Lenten
Sermons to the Maltese Community there. A
year before he died, he was elected Superior
to the new community of Jesuits in Catania.
He was one of the first members of the Malta
Archaeological Society erected by Governor
Grenfell in 1900. In 1903 the Museum
Committee had his service to excavate the
Hypogeum at Ħal Saflieni in Paola, besides
the Megalithic temple of Xewkija, Gozo. |
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Fr
Emmanuel Magri, s.j. |
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In his life he found space to strive and publicise
to the people elements of the Maltese folklore by
publishing ‘Ħrejjef Missirijietna’ (Our forefathers’
believes).
It’s true that archaeology was not his full-time
occupation, since he was a priest and Jesuit above
all else. And although both folklore and archaeology
were only his side-hobbies, but it’s also true that
he put all his intelligence and know-how to carry
them forward as best he could. That’s the Jesuit way
of life: never to be a second-grade performer, since
Jesuits have always in front of them that well known
Ignatian slogan: Ad majorem Dei Gloriam (To the
Highest Glory of God).
Fr Magri wrote a lot of archaeological reports but
not all was published. Some think he had them with
him when he left for Sicily. Notwithstanding this,
in his 1904 annual report about the Archaeological
Museum, Dr Temi Zammit, another giant in Malta’s
archaeological field-work, wrote that Fr Magri, as
an archaeologist, was ‘an indisputable competent’.
Fr Magri’s academic capacity may also be shown in
his talks, especially those about the Punic
inscriptions; besides, his arguments and conclusions
can’t be denied authority.
On 29th December he was commemorated, together with
other Maltese personalities, on a set of stamps
published by the Philatelic Bureau of Maltapost plc.
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