Bishop Sylvester Magro passes away

Mons. Sylvester Magro OFM, Bishop of Saldae, who served as the Apostolic Vicar of Benghazi in Libya from 1997 until 2016, has died.
Mons. Magro, who is from Rabat, died this morning at 2:20am at the age of 76.

Magro was born in Rabat, Malta on 14 February 1941. In 1957 he joined the Franciscan order and was ordained a priest nine years later on 26 March 1966. In 1982 Magro became the parish priest of Sliema in Malta.

In 1991 he was made responsible for the Maltese and English-speaking communities in Libya before being appointed as the Apostolic Vicar of Benghazi by Pope John Paul in 1997.

He was assisted by Joseph Mercieca the Archbishop of Malta and Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli the Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli.

During the Libyan Civil War Bishop Magro repeatedly ignored advice to flee the country for his own safety, remaining instead with the people of Libya.

On the occasion of Bishop Magro's 75th birthday, 14 February 2016, Pope Francis accepted his resignation and appointed Monsignor George Bugeja OFM, then coadjutor bishop of Tripoli, as his successor.
His funeral, presente cadavere, will be held on Monday January 22 at the Mdina cathedral.