Pope Francis in Malta in the footsteps of St. Paul

“The inhabitants treated us with kindness” Acts. 28:2

Saturday and Sunday, 2nd and 3rd April 2022.

His Holiness Pope Francis ended a two-day visit in Malta after an intense programme of meetings and activities in Malta and Gozo. Thousands attended a prayer meeting at the National Santuary of Our Lady of Ta’ Pinu in Għarb, Gozo on Saturday and a eucharistic celebration on the granaries in Floriana on Sunday. Each activity had its own spiritual, political and social significance.

On his attival at the Malta International Airport Saturday morning, the Pope was greeted by the President of Malta, Dr George Vella and Mrs. Vella as well as the highest authorities who also bid him farewell on his return trip to Rome Sunday evening.

In his homily on the granaries, Pope Francis  said we should not take notice of those surrounding us but we should look for those that are missing. We should not keep pointing our fingers but listen to what they want to say. We should not discard the downtrodden but put in the front those that have been sidelined.

During the prayer meeting at the Ta’ Pinu National Sanctuary, Pope Francis said that Malta is in a crucial geographical position, which is for the Mediterranean an attraction and a port of haven to so many persons battered by the storms of life who for various reasons land on our shores. In the faces of these poor it is Christ himself who is coming to us.

Two significant meetings the Pope had were with vulnerable people at the Collegiate Basilica of St. Paul in Rabat and with immigrants at the John XXII Peace Lab in Ħal Far.

 

This post is also available in: Maltese