For the prelate, the flame lit by the pope’s visit must be kept alive by bearing witness and evangelisation. Building walls is a sad sight. Solidarity towards Ukrainians highlights the plight of refugees coming from developing countries, treated as “second class”. Francis was “transfigured” by his meeting with the sick, prisoners, and the marginalised.

Valletta (AsiaNews) – Over the week-end Pope Francis undertook an apostolic visit to Malta.

During his stay, the pontiff highlighted the country’s history as a place of refuge, noted Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, who hopes to “keep the flame that the Holy Father lit alive and burning.”

For Malta, migration is part of its “genetic makeup”, part and parcel of its “culture and nature”, a “safe harbour” since the times of Saint Paul.

All Maltese “are children of migrants and migrations" who “want to live this identity as a source of hope.”

During his short visit, less than 48 hours, Francis’s agenda was highly charged meeting migrants and sick people, leading Mass in one of the island's iconic religious sites, St Paul’s Grotto in Rabat.

The pope used the liturgical service to touch two issues dear to him: peace and migration. The quest for peace is emphasised in his condemnation of war, most notably in Ukraine, while his focus on migration included a call that migrants should be met with open arms and help when in need.

For Archbishop Scicluna, the past few years have seen the “sad show” of countries raising walls to stem the flow of migrants coming from the world’s south and east.

Even in the current historical period, “we see examples of great solidarity towards our brothers and sisters from Ukraine, but not so much from for those who come from the south (Africa and the Middle East) who are almost treated as second-class”.

This should “motivate us” because it is necessary to show “solidarity to everyone”. To this end, the pope's visit ought to “lead us to look in the right direction and provide adequate answers.”

Asked about the value of the apostolic journey for Malta for the local Catholic community, Archbishop Scicluna noted how, at various moments, people warmly and enthusiastically embraced him, happy “to see the pope in person, the man in white who represents the successor of Peter and today embodies Christ on the Earth.”

This was visible when he met the “disabled, the sick, prisoners, the outcast, and the marginalised” at the end of the prayer in the grotto.

Caritas helps all these people who embody human suffering. “When he me them, the pope was like transfigured, all tenderness and sympathy,” the prelate told AsiaNews. “It was a deep experience of compassion that touched me.”

“As soon as he got off the plane, I asked the pope for the gift of spiritual and physical reconciliation and healing” for the community, “bearing myself the pleas of those who asked me to pray for difficult situations, illnesses and personal and family sufferings.”

Yesterday afternoon, Francis left Malta after meeting around 200 migrants at the John XXIII Peace Lab Centre at Hal Far.

“Let me say a word for those in our society who reject racism and are signs of hope and humanity,” said Archbishop Scicluna.

“The pope came to give comfort to people of good will, who go against the tide, counteracting latent racism and showing that rare humanity and that spirit of generosity which, for me, are a source of hope.

“I see goodness in our people, which must be sustained, not lost, and the pontiff’s presence has been a source of encouragement.”

In Malta, the pope condemned the war in Ukraine, calling it sacrilegious. For Archbishop Scicluna, “we look at the conflict with great apprehension.” Older Maltese “still remember the bombings, the destruction of our island,” he noted.

The pope celebrated Mass at the Granaries, in Pjazza San Publju (St Publius Square) in Floriana, where a church was destroyed by Axis planes.

“Unfortunately, it seems that today we are not wise enough to have learnt anything from the past and this is a source of real anguish. . . We are helplessly watching slaughter.”

Lastly, Archbishop Scicluna said that he hoped that the “great grace” received from the visit will be turned into “deeds to keep alive the torch he lit.”

“We must continue to bear witness, welcome others, evangelise, and proclaim with joy the Gospel that is born of the encounter with Jesus, the primary task of the Church. The pope came to confirm and strengthen the flock in their mission.”

• vatican
• pope francis
• malta
• apostolic visit
• archbishop charles scicluna
• migration
• war
• ukraine