POPE FLIES OVER ISLAND WHERE ST. PAUL WAS SHIPWRECKED

VATICAN CITY, MAY 9, 2001 (VIS) - Civil and religious authorities, including Maltese President Guido Di Marco and Archbishop Joseph Merceica, were at the Gudja International Airport early this evening for a farewell ceremony for the Holy Father. This was John Paul II's second apostolic visit to this island. When he came in May 1990, he was the first Pope ever to visit Malta.

In remarks to the dignitaries and to the Maltese people, he said that, "as the Successor of Peter, I must go back to Rome, the See of Peter, and to my duties as pastor of the Universal Church." He thanked everyone "for being a part of my Jubilee pilgrimage in the footsteps of St. Paul. In the "geography of salvation'. At the end of my first visit, I told you that upon my return to Rome, I would tell the Apostle Paul that the Maltese were 'a good Catholic people'. Now, I shall tell your patron that you are still doing what he wanted: 'fighting the good fight of the faith; taking hold of the eternal life to which you were called'."

"Malta," the Pope observed, "is at the center of the Mediterranean. You therefore have a unique vocation to be builders of bridges between the peoples of the mediterranean basin, between Africa and Europe. The future of peace in the world depends on strengthening dialogue and understanding between cultures and religions."

John Paul II stated that, during his Jubilee pilgrimage he "hoped and prayed for a great renewal of faith among Christians. I have wished to encourage believers and all people of good will to defend life, to promote respect for the dignity of every human being, to safeguard the family against so many present-day threats, to open their hearts to the world's poor and exploited, and to work for an international order built on respect for the rule of law and on solidarity with the less fortunate."

After the papal plane took off, it flew over the island of St. Paul, where the apostle was shipwrecked in the year 60. On his previous visit to Malta, Pope John Paul, aboard a catamaran, had blessed a fiberglass statue of St. Paul, which was then dropped over the side of the boat, just off the island, as a protection for mariners.

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