Not so long ago, when Mgr Paul Cremona replaced Mgr Joseph Mercieca as Malta’s new Archbishop, the Church in Malta seemed set towards a new beginning, one that was needed in view of the growing indifference that was being shown towards it.

We all remember the enthusiasm that was shown in the days leading up to the official ceremony that marked the changeover. Mgr Cremona was seen as the man who could lift the Maltese Church out of problems that it was facing.

His charisma is still there, but his public presence has diminished since those eventful days. What appeared to be change of direction – from a Shepherd who spent most of his time behind a desk to one who preferred to be among his flock – was soon lost as Mgr Cremona’s public presence diminished week after week, month after month.

Yes, he is holding pastoral visits to each and every town and village, but his presence is no longer being felt as much as it was in the first months of his mission. Whether this is a choice that he made or whether it is simply a fact of not being able to continue the early trend is not known.

What is sure is that the positive effect of having a new Archbishop was lost, and unfortunately quite soon.

The Church in Malta once again has the opportunity to revive this kind of enthusiasm when Pope Benedict XVI is likely to visit Malta next year. The visit is still in its planning stages, but what the Curia said last Saturday allows the faithful to hope for a third papal stay in Malta in just 20 years.

For centuries, Catholic Malta had fervently prayed, to no avail, for the Pope to visit Malta. But it was only in 1990 that this dream came true. It was Pope John Paul II who set foot here for the first time in what were three memorable days. Eleven years later, in 2001, the Polish Pontiff came over again, and this time beatified Dun Gorg Preca, Adeodata Pisani and Nazju Falzon.

It was the current pope who canonized Dun Gorg as San Gorg Preca, Malta’s first saint, and now Benedict XVI is expected to visit Malta next year to mark the 1950th anniversary of St Paul’s shipwreck, the event that is said to have brought the Catholic faith to Malta.

It is quite ironic that when Malta was certainly more Catholic than it is today, no Popes visited Malta; now that the Church in Malta, as anywhere else for that matter, has become less and less popular, we have had two visits of a the same pope and a third is likely to take place next year. All within a space of 20 years.

With the number of people who go to Sunday Mass on the decline for a number of years, the Church in Malta is struggling to be as influential as it used to be in the past. As people have become more educated, they do not accept the Church’s teachings as gospel – excuse the pun – without questioning. Many who have stopped going to Church argue that they were pushed away by the Church’s own teaching, be it on divorce, homosexuality, contraception and other issues.

Yet, just as much as having a new Archbishop brought about a wave of enthusiasm towards the Church, a pastoral visit by the Church’s supreme leader will also help to put the Church in the limelight once again.

It is a chance that the Church must use to the maximum to pass on its message – in the hope that the keenness that is shown in the build-up to his visit and during his time here will not be forgotten so quickly.