Gibraltar

Monsignor Charles Azzopardi

A profile of the Catholic Bishop-elect of Gibraltar, Monsignor Charles Azzopardi.

Bishop-elect of Gibraltar

Monsignor Charles Azzopardi was born in Gibraltar on 20 April 1962.

He worked at The Gibraltar Motor Hire Service from 1978 to 1986.

From 1986 to 1992, he undertook ecclesiastical formation, first in the UK at New Creation Church in Liverpool; then at the Jesuit-run Milltown Institute in Dublin, Ireland.

He subsequently attended the Collegio Urbano of Propaganda Fide, Rome, Italy.

He was ordained priest for the clergy of the Diocese of Gibraltar on 6 August 1992.

Mgr Azzopardi has held the following pastoral appointments in the Diocese of Gibraltar:

Assistant Priest at the Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned (1992 to 1998).

Parish Priest of St Theresa’s, Rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Europe, Director of Nazareth House and of the Soup Kitchen (From 1998 to present).

Furthermore, from 1998 to 2010, he served as School Chaplain at St Anne’s and Notre Dame Primary Schools, as well as at Westside and Bayside Comprehensive Schools.

Diocese

The Diocese was formed on 19 November 1910 when the Vicariate Apostolic of Gibraltar was elevated to become a diocese.

Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean.

The Bishop of Gibraltar is the ordinary of the Diocese and is immediately subject to the Holy See.

Statistics show that roughly three quarters of the 28,800 people living in Gibraltar are Catholic – almost 22,000 people.