[7] Elected as a Labour Senator in the Malta Legislative Assembly in 1921, he resigned half-way into his term to be enthroned as the 5th Bishop of Gozo in 1924.

Gonzi's tenure as Archbishop of Malta was marred due to strained relations with the Labour Party, particularly with its leader Dom Mintoff.

The Church, and in particular Gonzi's, relationship with the Labour Party, worsened further in 1958 when nationwide protests and street unrest developed when it was announced that the dockyard would be gradually shutting down and the number of workers drastically reduced.

The antagonistic talk was further exacerbated with Labour's decision to develop relationships with Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity Organization (AAPSO), believed to be a socialist front organisation.

Those 'interdicted' could not receive the sacraments and, when they died, were buried in unconsecrated ground, in a part of the cemetery popularly called by the pejorative term Il-Miżbla.

[9] During 'interdiction', the political climate in Malta was very tense with the church organising rallies for preparation of the spirit in view of the forthcoming elections.

The Labour Party rallies were also often disrupted by continuous churchbell ringing and whistling and other deliberate noise by Catholic laymen.

In 1949, on the occasion of the silver jubilee of his consecration as Bishop, Pope Pius XII made him Assistant at the Pontifical Throne and created him a Papal Count for his works on behalf of the Papacy.

In 1963, Generalísimo Francisco Franco made Count Gonzi a member of the Order of the Cross of St Raimond de Peñafort.