(April 17, 2010) Below is the text of Pope Benedict’s discourse on arrival in Malta
Mr President, Dear Brother Bishops, Distinguished Authorities, Ladies
and Gentlemen, Jien kuntent ħafna li ninsab fostkom! It gives me great joy
to be here in Malta with you today. I come among you as a pilgrim to worship the
Lord and to praise him for the wonders he has worked here. I come also as the Successor
of Saint Peter to confirm you in the faith (cf. Lk 22:32) and to join you in prayer
to the one living and true God, in the company of all the Saints, including the great
Apostle of Malta, Saint Paul. Though my visit to your country is short, I pray that
it will bear much fruit. I am grateful, Mr President, for the kind words with
which you have greeted me in your own name and on behalf of the Maltese people. I
thank you for your invitation and for the hard work that you and the Government have
done in order to prepare for my visit. I thank the Prime Minister, the civil and
military authorities, the members of the Diplomatic Corps and everyone present, for
honouring this occasion by your presence and for your cordial welcome. I greet
in a special way Archbishop Paul Cremona, Bishop Mario Grech and Auxiliary Bishop
Annetto Depasquale, as well as the other Bishops present. In greeting you, I wish
to express my affection for the priests, deacons, men and women Religious and all
the lay faithful entrusted to your pastoral care. The occasion of my visit to
these islands is the nineteen hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Saint Paul’s shipwreck
off the island of Malta. Saint Luke describes this event in the Acts of the Apostles,
and it is from his account that you have chosen the theme of this visit: “Jeħtieg
iżda li naslu fi gżira” (Acts 27:26). Some might consider Saint Paul’s arrival in
Malta by means of a humanly unforeseen event to be a mere accident of history. The
eyes of faith, however, enable us to recognize here the workings of divine Providence.
Malta, in fact, has been at the crossroads of many of the great events and cultural
exchanges in European and Mediterranean history, right up to our own times. These
islands have played a key role in the political, religious and cultural development
of Europe, the Near East, and North Africa. To these shores, then, in the mysterious
designs of God, the Gospel was brought by Saint Paul and the early followers of Christ.
Their missionary work has borne much fruit over the centuries, contributing in innumerable
ways to shaping Malta’s rich and noble culture. On account of their geographical
position, these islands have been of great strategic importance on more than one occasion,
even in recent times: indeed, the George Cross upon your national flag proudly testifies
to your people’s great courage during the dark days of the last world war. Likewise,
the fortifications that feature so prominently in the island’s architecture speak
of earlier struggles, when Malta contributed so much to the defence of Christianity
by land and by sea. You continue to play a valuable role in the ongoing debates on
European identity, culture and policy. At the same time, I am pleased to note your
Government’s commitment to humanitarian projects further afield, especially in Africa.
It is greatly to be hoped that this will serve to promote the welfare of those less
fortunate than yourselves, as an expression of genuine Christian charity. Indeed,
Malta has much to contribute to questions as diverse as tolerance, reciprocity, immigration,
and other issues crucial to the future of this continent. Your Nation should continue
to stand up for the indissolubility of marriage as a natural institution as well as
a sacramental one, and for the true nature of the family, just as it does for the
sacredness of human life from conception to natural death and for the proper respect
owed to religious freedom in ways that bring authentic integral development to individuals
and society. Malta also has close links to the near East, not only in cultural
and religious terms, but even linguistically. Allow me to encourage you to put this
ensemble of skills and strengths to ever greater use so as to serve as a bridge of
understanding between the peoples, cultures and religions which surround the Mediterranean.
Much has still to be done to build relationships of genuine trust and fruitful dialogue,
and Malta is well placed to hold out the hand of friendship to her neighbours to north
and south, to east and west. The Maltese people, enlightened for almost two millennia
by the teachings of the Gospel and continually fortified by their Christian roots,
are rightly proud of the indispensable role that the Catholic faith has played in
their nation’s development. The beauty of our faith is expressed in various and complementary
ways here, not least in the lives of holiness which have led Maltese to give of themselves
for the good of others. Among these we must include Dun Ġorġ Preca, whom I was pleased
to canonize just three years ago (3 June, 2007). I invite all of you to invoke his
intercession for the spiritual fruitfulness of this, my first pastoral visit among
you. I look forward to praying with you during my time in Malta and I wish, as
a father and as a brother, to assure you of my affection for you and my eagerness
to share this time with you in faith and friendship. With these thoughts, I entrust
all of you to the protection of Our Lady of Ta’ Pinu and your father in the faith,
the great Apostle Paul. Il-Mulej ibierek lill-poplu kollu ta’ Malta u ta’ Għawdex!