Blessed Nazju Falzon Biography
Blessed Nazju Falzon Profile. Born: July 1 1813 in Malta, Europe. Worked in Malta. Died: July 1 1865 in Malta. Feast Day is celebrated on July 1.
Bl. Nazju Falzon Biography, Feast Day, Date of Birth, Country of Birth, Profession, Place of Work, Date of Death, Place of Death, Beatification Date, Canonization Date |
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Date of Birth | July 1 1813 |
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Country of Birth | Malta of Europe |
Matrimony/Holy Orders | Priests |
Profession | Cleric |
Place of Work | Malta |
Date of Death | July 1 1865 |
Place of Death | Malta |
Feast Day | July 1 |
Beatification | Beatified by Pope John Paul II |
Canonization | Canonized by N/A |
Patron Saint of | Catechists |
Biography
Blessed Nazju Falzon, was the son of Francis Joseph who was a judge and Mary Teresa who was a daughter to a judge. Bl. Falzon was baptized in the church of Porto Salvo on July 2, in the names of “Rocco Angelo Sebastiano Vincenzo Naju Rosario Falzon”. He had three brothers. All the four became lawyers and two of the brothers became priests. One of his brother Anthony became a lawyer and then got married. The other two brothers Kalcidon and Francis became priests also.
Education and Career
Blessed Nazju got a doctorate in law on September 7, 1883. He obtained the tonsure and his clerical habit on December 20, 1828. On December 21, 1828, he was installed as a cleric in a Mass presided over by Mgr. Publius M. Sant.
Bl. Falzon got the minor orders on both August 21, 1831 and on 18 December 1831. However, he did not wish to be ordained as a priest, on the grounds of unworthiness. This was despite the local bishop’s support. He also taught catechism to local children, first in the Institute of the Good Shepherd. There he became pretty fluent in English because the British were there across the island nation. Bl. Falzon also worked with some of British soldiers and sailors who were stationed in Malta. At the time it was a British protectorate. Bl. Falzon would go look for the men at their assigned posts. The ones who were interested were welcomed to his own home for service.
Later Life
As more and more of them grew interested, it forced him to move. He soon found a new location to do his work in a Jesuit church in the capital of Valletta. Soldiers would leave their valuables with him when they had to go to the battlefield. They did this knowing that, he would give them to their loved ones if they were killed or went missing.
Bl. Falzon imported simple books in various vernacular languages and share them among his congregation to read. He was also a writer, who wrote “The Comfort of the Christian Soul”. He mentored those who remained on the island. Also, he served as the priest and performed marriages as well as baptisms and funerals. He possessed a strong devotion to the Eucharist and to the Archangel Raphael. He also had devotions to both St. Joseph and St. Benedict Joseph Labre( a Blessed at the time).
Death
Bl. Falzon passed in 1865 due to a heart attack. He was entombed in the Falzon Vault, he was later moved to the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception in the local Franciscan church.
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