SAN JOSEPH'S BIOGRAPHY ...
Joseph DiPiro was born on November 2nd 1877 in Mdina to the Noble Alessandro dei Marchesi De Piro and Ursola nee' Agius, the seventh of nine children. First he received primary and secondary education, showing also considerable talent for painting, then he became student of the Royal University of Malta. From then on he studied Arts and Sciences for three years and served in the Royal Malta Militia. Between 1897 and 1898 he started reading law; at 21 he felt the call to the priesthood and decided on May 8, 1898 while praying to our Lady of Pompei, that he should follow this vocation. In 1898 he enrolled as a student at the Capranica College, beginning his studies in Philosophy and Theology at the Gregorian University in Rome. On March 15, 1902 DiPiro ordained priest at St. John Lateran and from then on to 1904 followed a period of convalescence from TB at Davos in Switzerland. In 1904 he returned to Malta and spent 3 years of pastoral work in the parish of Qrendi. 1907: Appointed Director of Fra Diego's Orphanage for Girls. 1910: Started the Missionary Society of Saint Paul by accepting the first two of its members. 1911: Nominated canon of the Cathedral of Malta. 1915: The new Archbishop of Malta, Mgr. M. Caruana, appoints him as his secretary. 1918- 1920: Served as Rector of the Major Seminary of Malta in Mdina. He was one of the Maltese leaders during the Sette Giugno disturbances of 1919. 1920: Nominated dean of the Cathedral Chapter. 1921: Malta was given a new Constitution that the National Assembly - of which Mgr. De Piro was a hard working member - had striven for. 1922: Served as a substitute parish-priest for some months in Gudja. He was made director of the following orphanages: St. Joseph's Home, Hamrun. Jesus of Nazareth Institute, Zejtun. 1925: St. Joseph's Home, Ghajnsielem, Gozo. The home for Little Children, St. Venera. 1927: St. Francis de Paule Institute, B'Kara. 1930: Served as intermediary between the Church and Lord Strickland. 1932- 1933: Served as a Senator in the third Maltese Parliament. 1933: Mgr. De Piro, aged 56, died after collapsing during a liturgical service at St. Cajetan's Parish Church, Hamrun.