POPE JOHN PAUL II WRITES TO PRESIDENT DE MARCO

The President of Malta Prof Guido de Marco received a letter from His Holiness Pope John Paul II refering to his forthcoming visit to Malta next month.

Pope John Paul II thanked the President and the Government of Malta for making it possible for him to accomplish this Jubilee Pilgrimage in the footsteps of St. Paul,which he is undertaking. His Holiness wrote that it had always been his hearthfelt desire to mark the two thousandth anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ by following the path of evangelisation connected to the Appostle St. Paul.

The Pope's visit to Malta during this pilgrimage is to include the beatification ceremony of Dun Gorg Preca. President de Marco had, on his official visit to the Holy See in September 1999, expressed his hope that His Holiness would witness again on our shores the commitment of the Maltese people to peace and solidarity. President de Marco had reiterated this hope last November during the Jubilee of the Parlamentarians in Rome.

The following is the full text of the message which His Holiness sent to the President of Malta.