Cardinal Propero Grech has joked about what went through his mind the day he received Pope Benedict XVI invitation for elevation to Cardinal.
Speaking to the Vatican's daily organ L' Avvenire, the newly appointed Cardinal said that while he had a moment of doubt when he received a phone call from Cardinal Bertone telling him he would be made Cardinal, he paused for a minute and told the secretary of state: "If I said no, what would the Maltese say? ...they would surely kill me after almost 200 years waiting to have a native Cardinal."
Cardinal Grech also joked about his Agostinian superiors who would have insisted to have a representative within the Vatican's Sacred Palaces.
The last Cardinal from the Order of St. Augustine was Sebastiano Martinelli from Tuscany.
Grech, who besides being a respected theologian and known for his passion for photography, says that his wish is to one day be the one who signs Pope Benedict XVI's official photograph.
The newly elevated Cardinal says that despite his old age, he still belives that his mission as Cardinal will "surely not be a sterile one."
Cardinal Grech intends to focus on the Pope's mission to strengthen the Church through its lay structures.