Today, Republic Day, President George Vella, on behalf of the Government and people of Malta, paid public tribute to a number of Maltese citizens who distinguish themselves in different fields of endeavour, including two Gozitans.

The President appointed the citizens to the The National Order of Merit or to the Xirka gieh ir-Repubblika, or by awarding them the Midalja ghall-Qadi tar-Repubblika.

Nationals of other countries may be conferred with honorary membership of the Order or of the Xirka or awarded the Midalja ghall-Qadi tar-Repubblika on an honorary basis.

In rarer cases the Midalja ghall-Qlubija can be awarded, even posthumously, to a Maltese citizen for an act of exceptional bravery.

From Gozo, Can John Mary Cauchi, better known as Fr Ganmari Cauchi and Loranne Vella Zahra were both awarded the MQR

This year’s Investiture Ceremony took place this morning at The Palace, Valletta, immediately following the customary Ceremonial Parade held at the Palace Square.

During the ceremony, five members were appointed to The National Order of Merit, two of whom received the award on an honorary basis and one of the latter was awarded posthumously.

Eleven other individuals were awarded the Midalja ghall-Qadi tar-Repubblika. Three of them were awarded the medal on an honorary basis and two posthumously.

The Investiture Ceremony was the culmination of a process which started with a public call for nominations issued in September to which a number of citizens responded by submitting their nomination.

A short biography on those from Gozo, as well as athletes from Special Olympics Malta, which also includes Gozitans Maria-Pia Saliba, Carmelo Pace and Giuseppina Galea, are shown below. Full the full list of honours and awards please click here.

FR GANMARI CAUCHI MQR

Can John Mary Cauchi, better known as Fr Ganmari Cauchi was born in 1942 in Gharb, Gozo. In 1963, when he was 21 years of age, he moved to Brazil to pursue his studies in Theology.

Archbishop José Maria Pires ordained Father Ganmari Cauchi as a priest in the diocese of Paraiba in 1967 where he gave service for around 50 years.

Father Cauchi was the Bishop of various parishes and he assisted farmers through an organisation of the Brazilian Catholic Church known as the Land Pastoral Commission whose aim is to help poor farming families to acquire a piece of land, often having lived on it for several years.

His work was not always accepted especially by the land owners and there were occasions where he was also threatened with a firearm.

When he reached 75 years of age and after having spent 50 years as a priest in Brazil, he decided to return to the island of Gozo where he is still giving service at the Ta’ Pinu Sanctuary and the Pompeii Home for the Elderly.

LORANNE VELLA ZAHRA MQR

Loranne Vella Zahra was born in Gozo in 1971. During her undergraduate project research in 1994, she isolated, identified and named a novel bacterium belonging to the genus Salmonella – abbreviated as Salmonella Gozo – in honour of the island where it was first isolated.

She subsequently graduated with first class honours in pharmacy from the University of Malta’s Faculty of Medicine and Surgery.

Vella Zahra continued postgraduate research in medical microbiology at the University of Malta’s Department of Pathology.

Her work focused on clinical diagnosis of fungal infections, securing local project funding to support Maltese immuno-compromised patients with concomitant fungal disease.

As a result, in 1995 she successfully established the first medical mycology laboratory for the clinical study, isolation and identification of pathogenic fungi. Her primary research into mycotic infections in Malta continued after her graduating MPhil with distinction in Pathology in 1997, publishing several papers in international peer-reviewed journals.

She trained and mentored several Maltese BSc and Pharmacy students in their undergraduate projects, ensuring that mycology was firmly established in both the public and private clinical sectors.

Before moving to the private sector, she also completed the new mycology laboratory design specification for Mater Dei Hospital.

In 2014, Loranne Vella Zahra successfully designed and led a global quality project for the IAG Group (British Airways and Iberia) making them the first cargo airline with a global airport network licensed for the safe international transportation of pharmaceuticals.

She currently resides in the UK and now operates her own pharmaceutical quality consultancy.

ATHLETES OF SPECIAL OLYMPICS MALTA MQR

The 28 athletes of Special Olympics Malta, who participated with different challenges in this year’s Special Olympics held in Abu Dhabi, won 40 medals, 12 gold, 13 silver and 14 bronze in 9 different sport disciplines.

These athletes that had to train intensively with continuous sacrifice, commitment, discipline and dedication for the past three years with the assistance of their coaches and relatives managed to achieve great results.

The athletes that participated in these Olympics are an inspiration to other persons with special needs and the society in general and have demonstrated that no one should let personal challenges hold them back.

Through their success, these athletes confirmed that they have all the necessary skills to compete with other athletes from around the world.

Gozo will mark the 45th anniversary of Republic Day with a concert on Sunday, the 15th of December, organised by the Ministry for Gozo.

A ‘Il-Kuncert ta’ Jum ir-Repubblika,’ a Musical Concert by the Malta Police Band will be taking place at Independence Square, Victoria, starting at 7.00pm.

Photograph: DOI/Clifton Fenech

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