Issued to mark Pope Francis's visit to Malta in April 2022 — his first papal visit to the island since John Paul II came twice, in 1990 and 2001. The visit carried unusual weight given Francis had cancelled a planned 2020 trip due to COVID, and Malta's historically complex relationship with the Vatican as a predominantly Catholic nation navigating EU secularism pressures made the occasion politically as well as spiritually charged for the Maltese government.
Issued to mark Pope Francis's visit to Malta in April 2022 — his first papal visit to the island since John Paul II came twice, in 1990 and 2001. The visit carried unusual weight given Francis had cancelled a planned 2020 trip due to COVID, and Malta's historically complex relationship with the Vatican as a predominantly Catholic nation navigating EU secularism pressures made the occasion politically as well as spiritually charged for the Maltese government.