Peter and the Island of Malta: Malta and the Pope throughout the ages

by Martin Debattista

Malta has a long-standing direct relationship with the head of the Catholic Church, and not just for the fact that Malta has been the bulwark of Christendom for hundreds of years.

The Maltese Islands became Christian when the Apostle St. Paul was shipwrecked in the year AD 60 on his way to Rome. However during the Middle Ages the Arabs conquered the Islands and it seems the Maltese population either converted to Islam or the Islands were re-populated with Muslim Tunisian immigrants.

After the Norman conquest of Malta by Roger II in the year 1127 the Islands returned under Christian influence and was placed on the front-line in the holy war against the Moslems and Turks.

The arrival of the Knights Hospitallers of St. John in 1530 sealed Malta's fate as such. Through the intercession of Pope Clement VIII, King Charles V of Spain granted Malta, Gozo and Tripoli to the homeless Order who had been wondering for eight years following its expulsion from Rhodes at the hand of the Turks.

It is at this time that the link between Malta and the Holy See was strengthened because the Pope is the head of the Order of St. John, although the day-to-day leadership was in the hands of the Grand Master.

At the same time the Pope appointed the Inquisitor who supervised the loyalty of the faithful to the Catholic Church in Malta. The Maltese Inquisition did not commit the atrocities committed by the notorious Spanish Inquisition. Nevertheless it was an authority to reckon with, regularly coming in conflict with the authority of the local bishop and the authority of the Knights.

Around a third of the 63 Inquisitors who presided over the Maltese Islands went on to become Cardinals. Two of the Inquisitors were eventually elected Popes of the Catholic Church. Fabio Chigi became Pope Alexander VII and Antonio Pignatelli became Pope Innocent XII.

It is also interesting to note that Francesco Laparelli, the Pope's architect, drew the plans for the City of Valletta, Malta's capital city.

Napoleon Bonaparte abolished the Inquisition after his invasion of Malta in 1798. When he expelled the Order of St. John from Malta, the Knights took refuge in Rome under the protection of the Pope and eventually settled there for good.

The arrival of the British, who evicted the French with the help of the Maltese after a two-year siege, started a new chapter in the relations between the Holy See and Malta.

There was an agreement between the British and the Maltese Church authorities, whereas the British gave the local Catholic Church carte blanche in local matters as long as it kept the Maltese quiet and happy and collaborated in the upkeep of the strategically vital British naval base. Indeed the British discouraged any activity by the English Protestant Church in Malta.

The Pope continued to play an important role, this time in the choice of the bishop of Malta. The British were always weary of a choice that would jeopardise their interests in Malta.

At one point in the second part of the 19th century the British lobbied against the choice of a bishop who they thought was pro-French. In the end the Simmons-Rampolla agreement was signed between the British and the Holy See, laying the ground for a good long-term relationship.

The relationship between Malta and the Holy See was always important, and several Maltese clergymen went to Rome to study or give their services in the Holy See. One of them is Archbishop of Malta Guzeppi Mercieca.

However the strongest link with the Pope in recent times was forged with Pope John Paul II's three visits to the Maltese Islands in 1990 and 2001.

In May 1990 he was still in good health and visited several places in the Maltese Islands. The second visit, in September, was a simple stop at the Malta International Airport en route to Africa.

During his third trip in May 2001, where he was already suffering from Parkinson's disease, he beatified the first three Maltese with such a status. However his mobility was much reduced.

In 2004 Pope John Paul II welcomed Malta's accession to the European Union and supported the request of Malta and several other EU members that a reference to the Judeo-Christian heritage of Europe is included into the European Constitution.

In June the same year the newly appointed President of Malta, Edward Fenech Adami, had an audience with the Pope in Rome. The Vatican Information Service quotes Pope John Paul II telling the President that "Your visit today occurs at an important moment in the history of your country. As Malta takes its rightful place in the European Union, it has a vital role to play in upholding the profoundly Christian identity of this Continent. In this regard I would like to express the Holy See's sincere appreciation for the support given by Your Excellency and the government of Malta for the inclusion of a reference to Europe's Christian heritage in the Preamble of the Constitutional Treaty of the European Union."

"Your visit today," said the Pope, "occurs at an important moment in the history of your country. As Malta takes its rightful place in the European Union, it has a vital role to play in upholding the profoundly Christian identity of this Continent. In this regard I would like to express the Holy See's sincere appreciation for the support given by Your Excellency and the government of Malta for the inclusion of a reference to Europe's Christian heritage in the Preamble of the Constitutional Treaty of the European Union."

Catholic World News further reports that during his meeting with the Maltese leader, which was held in the library of the apostolic palace, Pope John Paul spoke in English-- audibly, but with some difficulty in making himself understood. The public meeting was a festive affair, with the Pope obviously delighted by the presence of the Maltese president's six young grandchildren.

Malta and the other Catholic countries failed in their attempt to get the reference included.

Pope John Paul II did not accept the resignation of Mgr Guzeppi Mercieca from Archbishop of Malta and Mgr Nikol Cauchi from Bishop of Gozo. They both tendered their resignation last year on their 75th birthday as stipulated by Canon Law.

The successor of Karol Wojtyla will choose the new heads of the Maltese archdiocese and the Gozitan diocese.

7 April 2005