 Throughout his pastoral mission he was a popular preacher and sought-after confessor.Preca was named as a Monsignor after Pope Pius XII – on 2 October 1952 – named him a Privy Chamberlain, much to his mortification, and he held this title until the pope died in 1958.He never wore the vestments that the title entailed, nor did he ever claim the official document from the archbishop's office.