HOLY FATHER ARRIVES IN MALTA, ON LAST LEG OF PILGRIMAGE

VATICAN CITY, MAY 8, 2001 (VIS) - Following a flight of three and one-half hours, in which his plane flew over Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus and Greece, the Holy Father landed at Malta's Gudja International Airport at 2 p.m. local time. Civil and religious authorities, including Maltese President Guido Di Marco, Archbishop Joseph Mercieca and members of parliament and the diplomatic corps were among those who welcomed him to Malta.

John Paul's first apostolic visit to this Mediterranean island republic was in May 1990.

The Pope told those present for the welcoming ceremony that "after visiting some of the places especially connected with the history of salvation at Sinai, in the Holy Land and now in Athens and Damascus, my pilgrimage in the footsteps of St. Paul brings me to you."

"The memory of my first visit eleven years ago spontaneously comes to mind," he said, recalling meeting the priests, religious and laity and visiting Marian shrines, the Bay and islands of St. Paul and "the ancient Grotto, venerated as the place where he stayed. I remember above all the faith and enthusiasm of the Maltese and Gozitans."

John Paul II noted that "St. Paul arrived in Malta as prisoner on his way to Rome, the place of his martyrdom. Here he and his shipwrecked companions were treated - as we read in the Acts of the Apostles - 'with unusual kindness'. Here he bore witness to Christ and restored to health the father of Publius and other people of the island who were sick. ... For two millennia you have been faithful to the vocation involved in that singular encounter."

In closing he said: "Today, the Successor of Peter wishes to confirm you in the same faith and encourage you in the spirit of Christian hope and love."

After the welcome ceremony, the Holy Father and his entourage were driven 21 kilometers to Rabat to the apostolic nunciature for a brief rest before the scheduled 6 p.m. visit to the Presidential Palace of the Grand Master of Valletta, the Maltese capital, for an encounter with President Guido Di Marco, Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami, their families, the chief justice and members of the cabinet and opposition party.

Formerly a British colony, Malta became independent in 1964 and was proclaimed a republic on December 13, 1974. An archipelago in the south-central Mediterranean, located between Sicily and Tunisia, it consists of the islands of Malta, Gozo, Comino and several other minor islands. Both Maltese and English are the official languages of this republic of 379,000 people, of whom 95 percent are Catholic.

The Sovereign Military Hospital Order of St. John of Jerusalem, also called the Order of Rhodes and the Order of Malta, was founded in 1099 in Jerusalem by Brother Gerardo, who had built an infirmary and a church for pilgrims in the Holy Land. After centuries of vicissitudes, the order moved to Malta when Charles V ceded the archipelago of Malta to it. They remained there until 1798. In 1834 the Sovereign Military Order of Malta transferred to Rome.

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