Eugenio Borg was born in Senglea on Saturday, July 24, 1886. He was the fourth child of Salvatore and Carmela (née Mirabelli), in a family of twelve siblings. In 1891, the Borg family moved from Senglea to Ħamrun, and Eugenio started his primary education there. Later on, his father wished for Eugenio to pursue a career in the Malta Dockyard, and he began his apprenticeship in May 1902.
In his youth, Eugenio loved football and spending time with his friends. He was the leader of a group of friends who would gather in a square near the Church of St. Cajetan (Ħamrun), play, joke around and have a cigarette. When Eugenio Borg was around ninteen years old, he met George Preca for the first time, who at that time was still studying to become a priest. Borg was sitting with his friends in the square near the Church of St. Cajetan (Ħamrun), when Preca approached them and asked for a cigarette. He sat with them on a rock and began to talk with them about God. The next day, he resumed the conversation with them and continued to teach them about God, which he did so for many days.
Once, Eugenio Borg recounts, “when we were there, he (Fr George Preca) told me: ‘On Sunday, you and I will go for a walk together, bring a piece of bread… and something to drink.’ And so I did; I remember I had brought my English Bible with me. We reached the station… we entered a field, and while sitting on a rock under a tree, I was reading from the Bible and Father George was explaining. And this wasn’t just once, we used to spend an hour and a half, sometimes two hours, or even more, and then we used to go back home.”
Eugenio was given a copy of the Bible in English and started reading it while Preca sat next to him contemplating. Meetings like this continued to take place every Sunday. Preca was impressed by Eugenio’s leadership qualities but didn’t see him as a potential priest.
As a devout Christian, Eugenio Borg became a man of apostolate in the service of the Word of God, following the example of Saint George Preca. Over time, Eugenio became a persuasive speaker at the conferences he attended and also provided spiritual advice to those in need.
A person who walks in the footsteps of Christ will have a special devotion to the Eucharist and Mass. He will also be a silent, humble person who is capable of enduring the trials that come in his life and always be attentive to what God wants from him in all circumstances.
Eugenio Borg, by the grace of God, possessed all of these qualities. As a convinced Catholic, he never missed Mass and communion, even sacrificing himself greatly. Once, when he woke up late, he stayed until noon without drinking or eating anything, in order to hear Mass during the lunch break. Borg, who was diabetic, was a man who suffered in silence and carried his daily cross. He was charitable, with a big heart towards his fellow Members as well as towards the general public who needed his help.
Eugenio Borg passed away on March 12, 1967, five years after his great friend Dun George Preca. In 1997, on the 30th anniversary of his death, the Cause for his Beatification was opened.
Anyone who receives a grace through the intercession of this Servant of God is requested to inform the Society of Christian Doctrine, MUSEUM.
Eugenio Borg
an informative journal in Maltese about the servant of God Eugenio Borg
