Yesterday, this rumor was first reported - and it has now been confirmed, in all the language services of Vatican Radio. It's the first known foreign travel in 2010 for the Holy Father. although geographically, Malta is only 60 kilometers south of Sicily. It is widely speculated the Pope will make his first visit to Asia in 2010, particularly Vietnam.
Malta is a group of islands in the Mediterranean 60 kms southwest of Sicily. Its capital is La Valletta.
Pope to visit Malta in April 2010:
1950 years since St. Paul
was shipwrecked off the island
13 Sep 09 (RV) - Pope Benedict’s first overseas voyage of 2010 was confirmed this weekend. The Pope will make an apostolic visit to Malta in April next year. The Maltese Bishops announced the news to the nation on Saturday.
This is the third papal visit to the archipelago after those of John Paul II in 1990 and 2001. Dr. Alberto Gasbarri, head of the Pope's apostolic voyages outside Italy, will travel to Malta in October for the organization of the program.
Pope Benedict XVI accepted the invitation made him in recent months by local bishops and the President of Malta. The visit will take place during the 1950th anniversary of St Paul’s shipwreck on the archipelago, which tradition holds occurred in 60 AD during his journey towards Rome.
The site of the shipwreck is known today as St. Paul's Bay; at right, the Chapel of the Shipwreck and a statue of the Apostle.
The Apostle to the Gentiles – recounts the Acts of the Apostles - was welcomed by local people “with a rare humanity”. He stayed three months before setting sail for Sicily: bitten by a viper, he was left unharmed, many islanders who had diseases came to him and were healed.
On June 16, 2005, in a message to the new Maltese ambassador to the Holy See, Antonio Ganado, Pope Benedict recalled the deep Christian roots of Malta and its "wealth of cultural and religious values" on which it can build "a future of solidarity and peace."
He further stressed Malta’s role in giving life " to a united and supportive Europe” which “must be able to combine the legitimate interests of each nation with the requirements of the common good of the whole Continent. "
In this regard, in a recent interview with Osservatore Romano, the Archbishop of Malta, Paul Cremona, appealed to his fellow nationals to welcome migrants just as they welcomed the shipwrecked St Paul.
He explained that in accepting the apostle Paul, the Maltese showed "a strong sense of openness toward the 'other', the stranger.
“A feeling - he added - which must be preserved and practiced even in the current historical moment marked by mass migration”: a familiar phenomenon in Malta, situated as it is in the centre of the Mediterranean, and often the first place illegal migrants from Africa land."
We need to "eliminate prejudices - he said - and consider immigrants as people first."
Malta, member of the EU since May 2004, gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1964. The nation counts more than 410 thousand inhabitants, 98% of whom Catholic.
Another foreign trip, but four years from now!
Pope to visit Panama in 2013
PANAMA CITY, Sept. 12 (AFP)— Pope Benedict XVI will visit Panama in 2013 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the establishment of the first Catholic Church in the Americas, the Panamanian government announced.
The Pontiff conveyed his decision to make the visit during his meeting with Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, who is currently in Italy, the presidency said in a statement Friday.
The church of Santa Maria la Antigua del Darien was built in Panama in 1510.
And a report I didn't get to see till just now about another big event for spring 2010, other than the trip to Malta:
'Jesus of Nazareth', Book II,
to come out next spring?
September 11, 2009 - Though he fractured his wrist this summer, the Pope still worked on the second part of his book
Jesus of Nazareth, and dictated the revisions to it.
According to the Vatican spokesman, it will be published in the spring.
[On the video, Fr.Lombardi's picture comes on screen.]
It’s a historical, theological, and ascetic reflection on the childhood, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.
When he published the first book, he said it was not meant to be a papal teaching, but the result of his personal investigation, and that no one should feel obligated to agree with him.
Joseph Ratzinger has published more than 100 books. Without counting three encyclicals and compilations of his speeches,
Jesus of Nazareth is the second one he writes since becoming Pope.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 14/09/2009 14:16]