Pope Francis will spend this weekend in Malta, as announced in February by the Vatican.

The trip to Malta will be Pope Francis’ 36^th Apostolic Journey outside of Italy, who during his pontificate has touched 51 nations.

The visit to Malta was planned for May of 2020. Then, unfortunately, because of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was decided, prudently, to postpone the trip. The first hypothesized date was last December but in that case, there were no official communications. Now, finally, the trip has been planned for the beginning of the spring, during Lent.

The Journey’s theme is ‘They Showed Us Unusual Kindness’ (Acts 28:2) and highlights the plight of migrants crossing the Mediterranean toward Europe as well as promotes evangelization in the country. The visit’s logo shows open hands from a ship reaching out toward a Cross.

The theme also recalls the hospitable and warm welcome St. Paul received in 60 A.D. when his boat was shipwrecked and washed up on the shores of Malta. Matteo Bruni recalled that Pope Francis dedicated the January 2020 General Audience catecheses to the welcome of St. Paul by the Maltese.

Statistics of the Catholic Church in Malta as of 31 December 2020 (from the Central Office for Church Statistics)

Table 1 – Population and ecclesiastical structure

Table 2 – People engaged in activities of the apostolate

Table 3 – Indicators of pastoral workload

Table 4 – Priestly vocations

Table 5 – Educational centres owned / managed by ecclesiastics or religious

Table 1 – Population and ecclesiastical structure

Table 2 – People engaged in activities of the apostolate

Table 3 – Indicators of pastoral workload

Table 4 – Priestly vocations

Table 5 – Educational centres owned / managed by ecclesiastics or religious

Holy Father’s Schedule for Visit to Malta