Born in Valletta, Malta, to Giuseppe Ciantar and his wife Maria Concetta Buhagiar, Father Joseph Laurence Ciantar joined the Salesian Congregation at Burwash, Sussex, England, in 1912, and was ordained to the priesthood at Wonersh, Surrey, on July 11, 1920. Serving in his first years in Cowley, Oxfordshire, and successively in Macclesfield, Cheshire, between 1930 and 1938, he was in charge of Salesian propaganda and fund-raising in Britain.
Appointed rector of Rupertswood at Sunbury, Victoria, which at the time was the only Salesian institution in Australia, Father Ciantar arrived in Melbourne in 1938 and took responsibility for directing the work of the Order throughout the country. In 1941 he became the first Salesian master of novices in Australia and from 1948 until 1952 was rector of Don Bosco's Boys' Club and Hostel at Brunswick. His zest for raising money - which earned him the affectionate nickname of 'Ned Kelly' - was aided by his irrepressible cheerfulness and by the time he left Victoria, in addition to the establishment at Brunswick, he had opened the Archbishop Mannix Missionary College at Oakleigh, the Salesian School at Brooklyn Park, Adelaide, the Savio College at Glenorchy, Tasmania, and the Don Bosco's Boys' Camp at Dromana, Victoria.
From 1952 till 1964, Father Ciantar served at Engadine, Sydney, as rector of Boys' Town, which he transformed into a large, well-equipped and modern institution. On retiring from Boys' Town, he served as parish priest of Engadine-Heathcote, a position which he held until his death.
In 1966, Ciantar undertook his final project: he traveled to the United States of America, Malta and England to raise funds for a national shrine to St. John Bosco. Opened in October 1967, the shrine served as a Parish Church at Engadine. Ciantar died on December 28, 1967, at St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, following a sudden collapse a week before. After a Requiem Mass presided over by Cardinal Sir Norman Gilroy at the Engadine shrine, he was buried in Rupertswood Cemetery. He is remembered, particularly by Maltese Australians, for his dynamism and optimism.
Appointed rector of Rupertswood at Sunbury, Victoria, which at the time was the only Salesian institution in Australia, Father Ciantar arrived in Melbourne in 1938 and took responsibility for directing the work of the Order throughout the country. In 1941 he became the first Salesian master of novices in Australia and from 1948 until 1952 was rector of Don Bosco's Boys' Club and Hostel at Brunswick. His zest for raising money - which earned him the affectionate nickname of 'Ned Kelly' - was aided by his irrepressible cheerfulness and by the time he left Victoria, in addition to the establishment at Brunswick, he had opened the Archbishop Mannix Missionary College at Oakleigh, the Salesian School at Brooklyn Park, Adelaide, the Savio College at Glenorchy, Tasmania, and the Don Bosco's Boys' Camp at Dromana, Victoria.
From 1952 till 1964, Father Ciantar served at Engadine, Sydney, as rector of Boys' Town, which he transformed into a large, well-equipped and modern institution. On retiring from Boys' Town, he served as parish priest of Engadine-Heathcote, a position which he held until his death.
In 1966, Ciantar undertook his final project: he traveled to the United States of America, Malta and England to raise funds for a national shrine to St. John Bosco. Opened in October 1967, the shrine served as a Parish Church at Engadine. Ciantar died on December 28, 1967, at St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, following a sudden collapse a week before. After a Requiem Mass presided over by Cardinal Sir Norman Gilroy at the Engadine shrine, he was buried in Rupertswood Cemetery. He is remembered, particularly by Maltese Australians, for his dynamism and optimism.
Born in Valletta, Malta, to Giuseppe Ciantar and his wife Maria Concetta Buhagiar, Father Joseph Laurence Ciantar joined the Salesian Congregation at Burwash, Sussex, England, in 1912, and was ordained to the priesthood at Wonersh, Surrey, on July 11, 1920. Serving in his first years in Cowley, Oxfordshire, and successively in Macclesfield, Cheshire, between 1930 and 1938, he was in charge of Salesian propaganda and fund-raising in Britain.
Appointed rector of Rupertswood at Sunbury, Victoria, which at the time was the only Salesian institution in Australia, Father Ciantar arrived in Melbourne in 1938 and took responsibility for directing the work of the Order throughout the country. In 1941 he became the first Salesian master of novices in Australia and from 1948 until 1952 was rector of Don Bosco's Boys' Club and Hostel at Brunswick. His zest for raising money - which earned him the affectionate nickname of 'Ned Kelly' - was aided by his irrepressible cheerfulness and by the time he left Victoria, in addition to the establishment at Brunswick, he had opened the Archbishop Mannix Missionary College at Oakleigh, the Salesian School at Brooklyn Park, Adelaide, the Savio College at Glenorchy, Tasmania, and the Don Bosco's Boys' Camp at Dromana, Victoria.
From 1952 till 1964, Father Ciantar served at Engadine, Sydney, as rector of Boys' Town, which he transformed into a large, well-equipped and modern institution. On retiring from Boys' Town, he served as parish priest of Engadine-Heathcote, a position which he held until his death.
In 1966, Ciantar undertook his final project: he traveled to the United States of America, Malta and England to raise funds for a national shrine to St. John Bosco. Opened in October 1967, the shrine served as a Parish Church at Engadine. Ciantar died on December 28, 1967, at St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, following a sudden collapse a week before. After a Requiem Mass presided over by Cardinal Sir Norman Gilroy at the Engadine shrine, he was buried in Rupertswood Cemetery. He is remembered, particularly by Maltese Australians, for his dynamism and optimism.
Appointed rector of Rupertswood at Sunbury, Victoria, which at the time was the only Salesian institution in Australia, Father Ciantar arrived in Melbourne in 1938 and took responsibility for directing the work of the Order throughout the country. In 1941 he became the first Salesian master of novices in Australia and from 1948 until 1952 was rector of Don Bosco's Boys' Club and Hostel at Brunswick. His zest for raising money - which earned him the affectionate nickname of 'Ned Kelly' - was aided by his irrepressible cheerfulness and by the time he left Victoria, in addition to the establishment at Brunswick, he had opened the Archbishop Mannix Missionary College at Oakleigh, the Salesian School at Brooklyn Park, Adelaide, the Savio College at Glenorchy, Tasmania, and the Don Bosco's Boys' Camp at Dromana, Victoria.
From 1952 till 1964, Father Ciantar served at Engadine, Sydney, as rector of Boys' Town, which he transformed into a large, well-equipped and modern institution. On retiring from Boys' Town, he served as parish priest of Engadine-Heathcote, a position which he held until his death.
In 1966, Ciantar undertook his final project: he traveled to the United States of America, Malta and England to raise funds for a national shrine to St. John Bosco. Opened in October 1967, the shrine served as a Parish Church at Engadine. Ciantar died on December 28, 1967, at St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, following a sudden collapse a week before. After a Requiem Mass presided over by Cardinal Sir Norman Gilroy at the Engadine shrine, he was buried in Rupertswood Cemetery. He is remembered, particularly by Maltese Australians, for his dynamism and optimism.
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
