New parish priests for Balzan, Lija, announced

Curia announces the appointment of Fr. Karm Farrugia and Fr. Joseph Cilia to the positions

Fr. Joseph Cilia (left) and Fr. Karm Farrugia
Fr. Joseph Cilia (left) and Fr. Karm Farrugia

The Archbishop’s Curia has announced the appointment of new parish priests for Lija and Balzan.

The central villages of Lija and Balzan are to have new parish priests, according to an announcement by the Curia today.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna has appointed Fr. Karm Farrugia to lead the 3,800-strong parish of Balzan. Fr. Joseph Cilia has been appointed as parish priest of Lija, boasting a similar sized congregation.

This is not the first such appointment for Fr. Cilia, who has previously served as the parish priest of Birgu, and before that, Safi. He had also spent  two years as deputy parish priest of Qormi.

Fr. Farrugia is also no stranger to the role, having served as parish priest in Zurrieq, Zejtun and Ghaxaq. He has worked in various social work organisations, including Caritas Malta. Fr. Farrugia was appointed a member of the Metropolitan Chapter in 2007 and has been the ecclesiastical assistant of the Istitut Sekolari Spigolatrici Della Chiesa since 2008.
He had been working in Dar Kenn Għall-Saħħtek in Imtarfa since 2014.