John Paul arrives in Malta

POPE John Paul II today begins a three-day pastoral visit to the predominantly Catholic Mediterranean island of Malta. The trip is the Pope's 48th outside Italy since his pontificate began in October, 1978.
After his arrival at Luqa airport the Pope will enter the old harbour city of Valletta, the capital of Malta. He will address a gathering of clergy and religious at St John's Cathedral, church of the Knights of Malta, before being received by the Maltese civil authorities at an evening ceremony in the Grand Master's Palace, now the House of Representatives.
On Saturday Pope John Paul II will visit neighbouring Gozo, a tiny island only nine miles long with a population of 30,000. He is expected to pray at the hillside shrine of Our Lady at Mellieha, meeting the relatives of Maltese missionary priests, religious and the laity in the nearby piazza. The Pope will also concelebrate mass with the clergy of the Gozo diocese and talk with represenatives of the Gozo community in the island's cathedral later the same day.
The last day of the Pope's visit will be spent on Malta, where at mid-day he will attend a gathering of the sick at the grotto of St Paul, where the saint is said to have stayed. The prayers said by Pope John Paul will be relayed by satellite live to St Peter's Square in Rome.