Valletta, Malta, Sep 15, 2009 / 17:55 pm
A Vatican official responsible for pontifical visits will travel to Malta in October to consider a visit by Pope Benedict XVI in April 2010, the 1950th anniversary of St. Paul’s shipwreck on the island.
Tradition holds the shipwreck to have taken place in 60 AD. In the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke writes that the inhabitants treated him and St. Paul with “unusual kindness.”
The event is of particular importance to Malta, where large celebrations were held in 1960 to commemorate its anniversary.
The bishops of Malta and Malta’s President have invited Pope Benedict to visit the island. The bishops have encouraged the faithful to pray that the Maltese islands be blessed with a visit by the Pope, a statement from the Archdiocese of Malta says.