On Saturday, Mgr Charles Scicluna will take over as head of the Church in Malta, in a ceremony that is to take place at the Mdina Cathedral.

His installation as Archbishop of Malta fills up the vacuum that was left in October after Mgr Paul Cremona chose to leave the post he was given in 2007.

For several years, the Church worldwide has been constantly losing influence, especially on the younger generations, as new lifestyles kicked in and society continued to adapt to the changing circumstances. For many, the Church remained stuck in the past and unable to move with the times, and its loss of authority was further compounded following a string of incidents involving priests who sexually abused people under the Church's care.

Malta has not been spared this. We have had priests who were found guilty of sexually abusing minors, while others are facing similar and other charges in court. All such incidents are blows to the Church's credibility. It is no wonder that, census after census, the number of people who say they attend Mass on Sunday - one of the few gauges that we have to measure the importance people still give to the Church - continues to drop. Not so long ago, Malta boasted of having a near 100 per cent Mass attendance on Sundays; today, only half the population does so.

Under Mgr Cremona's leadership, the Church in Malta had to face two other battles, which it lost. The first was the referendum to introduce civil divorce, which the Church adamantly fought against, pumping thousands of euros into a campaign that did not reap the result it wanted. Along with the Philippines, Malta was the only country not to allow civil divorce. Since 2011, we have left the Filipinos on their own.

The second major defeat for the Church in Malta was more recent, and it involved the enactment of a law allowing civil partnerships or, as we all know it, gay marriage. Again, the Church strongly fought against the idea, but the Maltese House of Representatives moved on with a vote in favour by the government side, and an abstention from the Opposition benches. This time, Malta was among the first countries in the world to legislate on civil partnerships, which in itself is significant, given the long time it took us to introduce a divorce law.

Mgr Scicluna takes over as head of the Church in Malta at what is probably its lowest point in terms of popularity. His is a tough job indeed, and he will need all the help he can get to at least stop the bleeding.

The many years spent working at the Vatican in Rome will come to his assistance as he embarks on his mission. Having been at the forefront in the Vatican's fight against sexual abuse by priests gives him an edge when he has to deal with such situations, which unfortunately are growing in number.

But his task is much more than that. And he should take some lessons from the present pontiff who, in the two years he has already spent as the head of the universal Church, he has come across as a leader who understands the basic needs of people in today's world. Pope Francis is loved because he is seen as a man of the people, one who is not afraid of calling a spade a spade. He does not shy away from controversy and has intentionally created debate with his statements.

In a nutshell, he got people to talk about the Church.

Too often in the past 40 years or so, the Church in Malta remained silent. It happened even when it was at the centre of disputes that directly involved it. And this is perhaps one of the main reasons why people distanced themselves from the institution. They no longer felt comfortable with its silence.

Mgr Scicluna does not seem to be a person who likes to stay away from the heart of the matter. He enjoys being present in the media, unlike his predecessors, who were always afraid to be confronted. This is one element in his favour, and we all hope that he will not lose this characteristic once he officially takes over.

Today, a Church which simply speaks from the pulpit and is not present in the media - both the traditional media as well as the social boards - is a Church that will not be able to get through to the people. If Mgr Scicluna understands this, he will have already moved half the distance to bridge the gap.

The Church's financial difficulties, the drop in the number of priests and vocations and the reform of the way the Curia operates, were all matters that were brought up by Mgr Scicluna in his first meeting with the media when his appointment was announced. But apart from these administrative matters, the real challenge of his episcopacy is to take the Church close to the people once again.

To do this, he cannot work on his own. Mgr Scicluna must involve all clergy in this daunting mission, even those priests who have criticised the Church and him in particular. He needs each and every one of them to make an impact.

We wish him well.