Charles Azzopardi to be ordained as Bishop of Gibraltar tomorrow

Monsignor Charles Azzopardi will be ordained as Bishop of Gibraltar tomorrow in a ceremony set to be held at the Victoria Stadium under a marquee with over 3,000 attendees.

The episcopal ordination will begin at 10.30am on Sunday, with an installation ceremony later that day at 6pm at the Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned.

The ordination is expected to last around two hours, and Mgr Azzopardi said there will be hymns and fundamental questions asked of him, such as whether he is ready to follow God.

The event will begin with Mgr Azzopardi walking 60 metres to the altar in the marquee which has been converted into a cathedral.

“It's done with the dignity and the visibility,” he said.

“The altar will be in the centre, so that the distance between the altar and the people is closer, rather than to have a long hall that would be sort of 120 metres from the altar.”

“So this is basically making sure that the people have visibility, and are able to enjoy and participate spiritually and actively during the ceremony.”

The events will continue on Monday at 9am with a mass of thanksgiving with the youth of Gibraltar at Victoria Stadium, later at 6pm there will be a dedication of the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows at Catalan Bay.

On Tuesday, Christmas carol concerts will be held at the Victoria Stadium at 5pm and 7pm.

With a full calendar of events, Mgr Azzopardi has been preparing for the ordination over the past couple months having met Pope Leo XIV in Saint Peter’s Square, Rome last October during a general audience.

“There has been a lot of preparation,” he said.

“First of all, we've been, we started by meeting [at St Theresa’s] every Tuesday evening for a duration between 8pm and 9pm, and a number of people have been coming. We're still meeting, we'll be meeting here again this coming Tuesday.”

He has also been preparing spiritually for the episcopal ordination.

He added that prayers are important prior to being ordained, and he has been in a retreat in Scotland, near Perth, in preparation.

“That was a very beautiful moment,” Mgr Azzopardi said.

He said this retreat gave him time to reflect and an opportunity to be guided over the ceremony.

“Looking at the actual ceremony, and the words, the promises that I would make, and that they just don't become words, but that you really mean what you say,” he said.