Thousands of words have been written and said in praise of Pope John Paul II. Some have already dubbed him “the Great”, while others want to put him on the fast-track towards sainthood. Millions have flocked to Rome to pay their last respects, hundreds of millions have followed his demise on the mass media.

For us Maltese and Gozitans, Pope John Paul II remains the only Pope that ever came to visit us in our homeland, not once, but three times. He presided over the the first ever Maltese beatification ceremony, and in return he called upon the Maltese faithful to continue to give proof of their strong Christian beliefs.

In marking the end of Pope John Paul's era and the first new papacy for the third millennium, the MaltaMedia Online Network presents a few thoughts about the contributions of John Paul II while sheding some light on the long-term relationship between Catholic Malta and the Holy Father, the head of a church that holds around one billion faithful worldwide. This feature is also meant to serve as a repository for MaltaMedia.com's first reports on the new pope.