Hajja Salesjana

A brief introduction to yourself, your family and your studies. My full name is Laurence David and I was born on 6th July 1937 to Herbert and Llela Essery in Ewell, Surrey, England. I have, or rather I had, as she died of cancer in 2008, one sister who was a year younger than me, and a brother who was born at the end of 1941. My sister’s name was Josephine, and that of my brother, Noel. Both Mum and Dad were converts to Catholicism and were very keen that their children should receive a Catholic education. The three of us attended the local Catholic primary school in Epsom. I failed to get into one of the two private Catholic secondary schools, that of the Jesuits in Wimbledon, but was accepted by Fr. Thomas Paine SDB into the Salesian College, Chertsey that I entered at the age of 10 years in 1947. I spent a year at Chertsey before I went as an aspirant to Shrigley Salesian Missionary College near Macclesfield in Cheshire as Fr. Paine believed that my wish to be a priest should best be realised at Shrigley. I was very happy in that big family where I was to spend the next 8 years. Ultimately I studied Greek, Latin, French, European History and theory of Music. At the age of 19 I entered the novitiate in Burwash, Sussex, and was professed the following year on 8th September 1957. I was sent to Chertsey for my three years of Practical Training, before moving to Bollengo in Italy for my four years of theology. I was ordained priest with 31 others in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin. After one year back as a priest teacher and assistant at Shrigley I was asked to go to Malta as sports master. After one year spent as a student at Strawbery Hill where I qualified as a teacher I remained at St. Patrick’s until 1996 when I moved for a couple of years to Savio College as vice rector. From 1981 to 1994 I was headmaster of St. Patrick’s school. In 1998 I was asked to go to Tunisia to our school for 800 Muslim children, boys and girls, being appointed rector the following year. These were happy and very fulfilling years both in the school and in doing my bit in the local convents and in the parish of La Goulette. I returned to Malta in 2011 soon after the unfortunate murder of our Polish confrere Marek Rybinski and spent time in Ireland before joining the Salesian Oratory in Sliema. It was then back to St. Patrick’s. Here I am, helping with community chores, like the house chronicle, the minutes of the community meetings, helping out in the public church and generally making myself useful to the rector and bursar. I spend as much time as I can with the boys of the school during their recreation times, and when called for, I celebrate mass for the children of Chiswick House School. Mill-album tal-Familja Salesjana 1. Fr. Laurence Essery sdb 16 April-Ġunju 2023 hajja