Speech of H.H. Pope Benedict XVI before departing, at the Malta International Airport:
Mr President,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The time has come for me to bid farewell to Malta. I thank God for the opportunity to meet so many of you and
to visit this beautiful island. I thank the President for his gracious words and I thank all of you who have given me such a warm and generous welcome. My journey has given me a deeper appreciation of how the Gospel preached by Saint Paul has shaped the spiritual identity of the Maltese people. As I leave you, let me encourage you once more to cultivate a deep awareness of your identity and to embrace the responsibilities that flow from it, especially by promoting the Gospel values that will grant you a clear vision of human dignity and the common origin and destiny of mankind. Be an example, at home and abroad, of dynamic Christian living. Be proud of your Christian vocation. Cherish your religious and cultural heritage. Look to the future with hope, with profound respect for God’s creation, with reverence for human life, and with high esteem for marriage and the integrity of the family! Kunu wlied denji ta’ San Pawl! [Beworthy sons and daughters of Saint Paul!]
On account of its geographical position in the heart of the Mediterranean, many immigrants arrive on Malta’s
shores, some fleeing from situations of violence and persecution, others in search of better conditions of life. I am aware of the difficulties that welcoming a large number of people may cause, difficulties which cannot be solved by any country of first arrival on its own. At the same time, I am also confident that, on the strength of its Christian roots and its long and proud history of welcoming strangers, Malta will endeavour, with the support of other States and international organizations, to come to the aid of those who arrive here and to ensure that their rights be respected.
These noble goals depend on an unwavering dedication to the challenging task of dialogue and cooperation within
the international and European communities, key forums in which Malta bears witness to the Christian values that have helped to shape her identity. Unity, solidarity and mutual respect stand at the basis of your social and political life. Inspired by your Catholic faith, they are the compass that will guide you in the search for authentic and integral development.
The treasure of the Church’s social teaching will inspire and guide these efforts. Never allow your true identity to be
compromised by indifferentism or relativism. May you always remain faithful to the teaching of Saint Paul, who exhorts you to “be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Cor 16:13-14).
Grazzi ħafna, il-Bambin iberikkom! [Many thanks and may God bless you!]
I am a Maltese American who came to the U.S. at age 10. I am very proud of my Maltese heritage and my Catholic faith. I have five grandchildren all of whom boast to others about their Maltese heritage. My whole family, husband, children, their spouse and my grandchildren went to Malta in 2007 because I wanted them to know their heritage. I wish I could have been in Malta today to see the Pope. I truly believe in what the Pope said in that we must always be watchful, being strong and doing everything in love. Viva Il Papa! Dolores
thanks for coming visiting us to malta it was a marvelous visit and we always remembeer you in our prayers, it is a change in our ways of living.
Directed with reverence and appreciation to His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI:
Holy Father, I write to you in a spirit of humility and respect, and I hope that despite all the odds somehow, in some way, these humble words of mine have the pleasure of finding form in your mind. If it be God’s will, so be it. Holy Father, I am recently born again, even still a baby in Christ despite my 39 years of life. I am proud and honored to say that I found Jesus Christ here in Malta, and that my spiritual rebirth represents the most significant moment of my existence. And it is a gift from God of course, but mediated by key Maltese believers. But I am not Maltese: I grew up in Canada. There, in my youth, I had absolutely no idea that I would become a Christian. In fact, in Canada I was subject to the pernicious conditioning of a postmodern, industrialized, relativist secular society and was naturally led to mock the faith. I studied literature in univeristy and consequently was more inclined to seek a secular salvation in various forms of intellectualism and contemporary psychoanalysis. I was, I see now, blinded and ignorant of my birthright. Being influenced to a large degree by postmodern academia, I rejected the existence of God and even imputed low levels of intelligence unto believers. Shame and embarressment surrounded Christians in my youth like an aura of mockery. I write these words today feeling the shame and embarressment I feel before Christ in prayer when I relate to Him what I was.
Yet despite my sin and failings as a human being “God is love,” as you graciously said in one of your encylicals, and He sees beyond the shells that are wrapped and we wrap around the inner core of our souls. I write to you in a spirit of joy as I relate to you that finally these layered, encumbering shells are being divested from my burdened heart and the new of robes of Christ are being laid upon my humble shoulders, as though by light, through the mercy and grace of God. And it had to happen here in Malta. And the shocking part of it is that I was brought here through the most bizarre and even painful circumstances that the trajectory of my destiny boggles the mind. A convoluted, difficult, labyrinthine path to find our Lord Jesus Christ and to submit completely and to finally achieve self-awareness.
Malta has a gift Holy Father, and I say this as one who was lost, an orphan of modernity, of North American materialism and of the new aetheism. One who has lost but who is now found. The spirit of Jesus is strong here. And it lives in the heart of the Maltese. It is not in the heart of all of course, and Malta has its problems like any other country. But if one seeks for the Lord here, one will find. Malta is a citadel of Christ and place for all believers. Thank you for joining us here, and thank you for your words of encouragement. Despite all the troubles which plague us like a pestilence, Christianity must assert itself again in the West if the values of Christ are to reinvigorate the soul of man, so much so that we again can live in harmony with each other and the earth. And this we have to do together.
In Jesus Christ,
Travis Brannon
Thank You Archbishop Cremona and Bishop Grech for giving us the oportunity to re live our faith with all the beautiful events especially the celebration of the Eucharist on the granneries. Prosit to the well organized functions not special mention to ALL concerned in the organization.
Rose Marie Zammit, Sliema
Whenever the Church is in trouble it is always the Maltese who save her. I thank God for Malta and her people and their love of the Church. The Pope recognised the importance of Malta in promoting our faith. Long live our Holy Father and God bless Malta!
We should be proud to say that we are Maltese or even better Maltese Roman Catholics. 1950 years ago Saint Paul bestowed faith in us and since then it has become ever stronger. His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has made it clear that God is truly risen and that his love for us is beyond any limits no matter in what situation we might find ourselves and to trust in Him as he is the only way and to pray to the Blessed Virgin to lead us in the right path that leads us to God. His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has left his mark on our island as Saint Paul did 1950 years ago.