Graduation day at the end of academic year 2019-2020 at the Augustinian Institute Pietà was held on Friday, 6th March 2020. The Assistant Director of the Institute, Rev. Pierre Desira OSA, presided Mass together with Fr Mario Attard ofm cap, and Fr Constantino Borg OSA. During his homily, Fr Pierre applied aspects of Augustine of Hippo’s Confessions to the season of Lent. The Director of the Institute, Rev. Professor Salvinu Caruana OSA then delivered a speech in which he evaluated academic year 2019-2020, and delineated the programme for academic year 2020-2021.

During the first semester, from October to December 2020, two works of Augustine, namely, Teaching Christianity and How to teach catechism to the uninstructed, would be analysed and explained. During the second part of the academic year, namely, from January to March 2021, another treatise of Augustine will be analysed, the 10 Homelies on the First Letter of St John to the Parthians. The 230-page text was translated into Maltese by Rev. Francis Calleja OSA, Rector of the Basilica of St Rita of Cascia, Italy, and elucidated thanks to a number of studies by Rev. Prof. S. Caruana OSA.

The book will be made public during a book-launch evening on Friday, 8th January 2021 at 6.00pm at the Augustinian Institute Pietà. The 23rd edition of the Annual St Augustine Lecture 2020 will be held at the University of Malta on Thursday, 26th November 2020 at 19.00hrs, and will be addressed by Prof. Anthony Dupont of KU Leuven, Belgium.

During the closing part of the graduation evening, Fr Pierre distributed Certificates of Attendance to the 38 participants for academic year 2019-2020. A reception was then given in honour of the graduates and their guests.