Personality Profile: John DeBattista
‘From Grand Harbour (Malta) to the grand harbour of Portsmouth at the tender age of 4’ is how John DeBattista introduces himself. ‘I was then educated at Corpus Christi and St Edmund’s from where I went to work in the Naval base’. Over the years John has never lost command and love of the Maltese language.
Recognised by many as the gentle man who helps with collections at noon Mass on Sundays (‘I work with the blue bags and even the red ones at times’, laughs John), ‘JDB’ is one of the key players in the ‘Nooners’, the team of Eucharistic Ministers dispensing the Host and administering the chalice at mid-day Mass on Sundays.
John is the youngest of four (Dolores, Carmen and a brother, Jude Thaddeus) born to Adelaide and Tony (’Both Maltese born and bred’) who came to the UK ‘when Dad joined the Royal Navy following an enlistment campaign’. Family members include niece Rachel Lowe, of ‘Destination Portsmouth’ fame.
John is a keen saxophonist. When he’s not playing his saxophone, he enjoys cooking for family and friends, and listening to all types of music. As he freely admits, not without a smile, he’s very catholic – ‘that’s with a small “c” ’ – in his taste of music.