Prime Minister Robert Abela has confirmed that Pope Francis will be visiting Malta sometime in the first quarter of 2022.
The Pope’s visit had been planned for December but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Sources suggested that the Vatican requested the visit not to be held close to the election as rumours grew of a November election.
PM Abela met Pope Francis at the Vatican on Friday. He was accompanied by his wife Lydia and their daughter Giorgia Mae as well as Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo.
The visit began with a private audience between Pope Francis and PM Abela in which various topics were discussed, including immigration.
Pope Francis praised Malta for the way it is addressing the challenges related to immigration. However, he also acknowledged that Malta cannot act alone, and therefore recognised that Malta needs help to address immigration.
Topics including the environment and climate change were also discussed. Prime Minister Abea said that climate change is on the government’s agenda and highlighted the initiatives Malta is taking with this topic. Initiatives that will be discussed during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow.