Pope Francis visited the Maltese islands from the 2nd till the 3rd April for a brief and intense visit.
Migration, the joy of the gospel and the need to rediscover our humanity in the way we welcome each other were at the centre of the Pope’s Apostolic Journey. The theme for the visit was “They showed us unusual kindness” (Acts 28,2). At his first event, in Valletta, he addressed the President of Malta and other civil authorities and highlighted the values of honesty, justice, a sense of duty and transparency as “essential pillars of a mature civil society”.
When speaking at the Marian shrine of Ta’ Pinu in Gozo, the Holy Father spoke explicitly about the Gospel we are called to put into practice: welcoming others, being “experts in humanity” and kindling fires of tender love for those who know the pain and harshness of life.
During his last event at the Peace Lab in Hal Far, after hearing the testimony of two migrants, Pope Francis encouraged all those present to “light fires of fraternity around which people can warm themselves, rise again and rediscover hope. Let us strengthen the fabric of social friendship and the culture of encounter”
Earlier, during the Sunday Angelus in Floriana, the Pope asked everyone to pray for peace and spoke forcefully against the “sacrilegious” war in Ukraine.