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Pope Francis will spend the weekend in Malta, an ancient Catholic country evangelized by St. Paul but is now being hit hard by secularization
By Mélinée Le Priol | Malta
Alfred Sant Fournier says that missing Pope Francis's visit to Malta this weekend is unthinkable.
The Maltese school principal still remembers when John Paul II came here in 1990, the first pope to set foot on the soil of the Mediterranean archipelago.
That's a trip people still talk about with great fondness.
And Sant Fournier was also on hand when the Polish pope returned in 2001 and when Benedict XVI made his own visit in 2010.
He says he'll definitely be among the some 10,000 people who are expected to gather this Sunday at the Floriana esplanade in the Maltese capital of Valletta for the "Mass of Pope Francis".
What does this 60-year-old educator hope the papal visit will bring to his country?
In need of a spiritual boost
"A revival of spirituality in Malta," he replies, noting that his two adult children – one who rarely goes to church now – will go to the papal Mass with him.
"A revival, yes, but not in the sense of a return to the past," San Fournier quickly adds. "We Maltese need to understand what it is to be Christian today."
The need for such an update might come as a surprise since the archipelago (eight islands, four of which are inhabited) remains associated with Catholicism in the collective unconscious.
Didn't the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem rule here for more than two centuries? And isn't this country also the one where abortion is the most strictly forbidden?
Certainly. But for the past three decades, Malta has been suffering the full force of a secularization, the extent and speed of which was unable to anticipate.
The rate of religious practice has plummeted from more than 75% in 1990 to only 40% today. And the decline continues, with about 1% fewer people practicing each year, or 10% every ten years.
"Being Catholic is no longer automatic. It is a personal choice which young people must now consciously make," summarizes Father Jimmy Bonnici, secretary general of the Maltese bishops' conference.
"The backbone of Malta is no longer the Church," adds Father Glen Attard, superior of the Carmelite community of Mdina, in the center of the main island.
He believes that "within a few years" the Maltese constitution will eliminate the clause that makes Roman Catholicism the state's official religion.
Many reasons for the Church's dwindling influence
How does one explain such an upheaval?
Some people point to the independence of 1974 (after a century and a half of British colonization), when the State replaced the Church as "a symbol of national identity".
Others point instead to the enthusiastic opening to globalization at the dawn of the 21st Century, which led to Malta's European integration in 2004.
Still others point to the sexual violence committed here by members of the clergy.
And there is the issue of corruption, a Maltese scourge that the Church is sometimes accused of not denouncing clearly enough... or even of encouraging when it accepts large amounts of public funding for the restoration of its places of worship or the salaries of private teachers.
The Church suddenly became aware of its dwindling influence on Maltese society during the 2011 referendum when 53% of the population voted to legalize divorce.
Subsequently, Malta became a pioneer country in gay rights. And in 2021 it was the first State in the EU to legalize the recreational use of cannabis.
For the local Church, it's time for a reassessment.
Mainly just "cultural Catholics"?
"How can we understand that as soon as they had the opportunity, as soon as the archipelago was opened to the world, the Maltese began to turn their backs on the Church?" wonders Mark Cachia, a member of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Archdiocese of Malta.
He believes that behind the Catholic unanimity of the past, he can discern a faith that was too rarely lived in a personal way and an evangelization reduced to its bare minimum.
"As long as everyone was Catholic, who did you want to evangelize?" says Nadia Delicata, the archbishop's delegate for evangelization.
Like others, she regrets that the Maltese Church has focused too long on sexuality and has neglected social issues.
Doesn't the good maintenance of private education and the continued success of the annual village festivals around their patron saints show that all is not lost for the Church of Malta?
Several believers we met saw this as a sign that the Maltese have become "cultural Catholics".
Everyone is asking the same thorny question, "What to do?" And there is no lack of suggestions.
Some think that the local Church should learn to better "speak the language" of today's Maltese people.
They point to the example of their own Archbishop Charles Scicluna, who won high marks for the powerful homilies he gave on televised Masses during the Covid lockdown. And because of their popularity he has continued the TV liturgies even though people can now attend church in person again.
Another idea is that Church proposals should be in line with the growing "need for community" of the younger generations, who are fond of meetings in small groups and around a beautiful liturgy.
But more broadly, the idea is to restore the meaning of the rite, to get away from a formal relationship with Catholicism, which is still often seen as "an institution" or "an inheritance".
"We priests are much less numerous, but we try to do everything we did before... and even more!" sighs Father Joe Borg, a parish priest.
While continuing the "ordinary" pastoral work which still suits older people, how can time be found to refresh what is being offered towards young people?
What can the pope do?
"In fact, we must prepare future priests to live in two worlds at once," summarizes Father Bonnici.
In addition to being the bishops' conference secretary general, he is also the rector of Malta's seminary.
Today there are only 13 seminarians, compared to 34 fifteen years ago.
The Maltese like to say that "worlds" live together here in a tiny corner of the Mediterranean. And they emphasize that the Church has great difficulty moving from one to the other.
Can the pope help it make this transition?
People doubt that a brief, two-day visit can do the trick. Especially since its preparation was largely overshadowed by the March 26 general election that reconfirmed the Labor Party (55%), which has been accused of corruption.
Catholics of Malta expect that the pope will denounce corruption during his trip and also speak out for the rights of migrants.
But they are also hoping his visit will be a strong spiritual moment.
Carmelite Father Attard sums it up this way: "Our Church in Malta is tired, its history is very long... Today, it needs to fall in love again with God."
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