By popular acclamation, the Maltese Cross will appear on the “local” euro currency in 2008.

The familiar eight-point cross is recognised and associated firmly with Malta all over the world.

The Military and Sovereign Order of the Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem introduced it to these islands in the 16th century.

All Christian organisations and institutions, then and now, adopted as a matter of course, the cross of Christ’s crucifixion as an emblem of their society.

It is not surprising, therefore, to find that there are many variations in the shapes of the Christian crosses in different places and in different times.

The Maltese Cross can be described as “Four arrows with their sharp points in contact centrally and their peripheral ends in the shape of the letter V”

The choice of this cross is very popular and wise, and I daresay came as a surprise to the committee in charge of the coinage changeover.

Dr Ethelwald Emilius Vella MD

Manikata