The 36th international trip of Pope Francis since the beginning of his pontificate takes him this weekend to Malta, in the footsteps of Saint Paul who was shipwrecked on the island in the year 60. The smallest country in the Union European Union will thus become the 56th state visited by the Argentine pope since his election in 2013. This trip initially planned for May 2020, but which had been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is a continuation of his tour of last December, with particular attention to the reception of migrants.
With our correspondent in Rome, Cyprien Viet
Pope Francis explained that he wanted to visit Malta to support a ” country committed to welcoming many brothers and sisters seeking refuge “. He will visit a center bearing the name of “Jean-XXIII Laboratory for Peace” at the end of the afternoon on Sunday. About fifty migrants from Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan in particular are accommodated there.
Malta and its Christian roots
Saturday evening prayer in a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin Mary on the island of Gozo, and Sunday morning mass in the Valletta area, will also be an opportunity to highlight the Christian roots of Malta, which has 85 % of Catholics, against 99% during the visit of John Paul II in 1990. Maltese specificity, Catholicism is enshrined in the Constitution as the state religion, and this country is the only one in the European Union in which abortion remains completely illegal.
Defense of the rule of law
The theme of the fight against corruption could also be addressed by the pope on Saturday morning during his meeting with the political authorities. Maltese society remains very marked by the assassination in 2017 of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia who was investigating cases of tax evasion involving members of the government. Under the leadership of Pope Francis, the fight against the mafia and the defense of the rule of law have become central issues in the action of the Maltese Church.
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