Pastoral Letters

Pastoral Letter: Compassion and care until the end

Pastoral letter on assisted voluntary euthanasia

31/05/2025

Download the pastoral letter by the Bishops on voluntary assisted euthanasia Download The Pastoral Letter by the Bishops

A public consultation is currently underway in our country regarding so-called ‘Voluntary Assisted Euthanasia’. In a White Paper published by the Government, it is being proposed that patients will be legally permitted to end their own lives with the assistance of medical professionals, either in hospital or at home, if they meet the following conditions: they are over 18, suffering from a terminal illness, and they have been told by doctors they have less than six months to live… Read more »

Rejoice in the hope St Paul has sown in our hearts

Pastoral Letter for Lent 2025

08/03/2025

Dear brothers and sisters,

“Rejoice in hope” (Rom 12:12). As we celebrate the Jubilee Year 2025, which Pope Francis has dedicated to hope, we reflect on these words.

Who was Paul, the man who urged the people of Rome to “rejoice in hope”, and how did we come to know him? We thank God for his journey with us—one that began with a dramatic shipwreck… Read more »

Five blessings for our country

Pastoral Letter for Lent 2024

17/02/2024

The Pastoral Letter by the Bishops

For this year’s Lent, we Bishops are proposing that as a country, and as Christians, we ought to reflect on the five gifts of God that Dun Karm Psaila, the national poet, reminds us of in Malta’s national anthem: sound judgement, mercy, health, unity and peace.

“Guide me in your truth”

The first gift is sound judgement: the ability to understand, recognise and decide to choose good over evil… Read more »

Pastoral Message: Sunday Mass

Pastoral Message from the Bishops of Malta and Gozo

09/06/2023

Dear brothers and sisters,

We are celebrating the holy and solemn day in which we Christians thank God for the beautiful gift of the Eucharist, of the Body and Blood of Jesus, that is given to us for our salvation. On this cherished day, we wish to share with you the beautiful, practical and profound catechesis that His Holiness, Pope Francis, gave us on the 13th December 2017… Read more »

Let us continue to accompany our dear ones with respect and dignity

Pastoral Letter for Lent 2023

25/03/2023

“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26). Jesus poses this question to Martha, sister to Lazarus and Mary, three of Jesus’s closest friends. The Gospel we have just heard today clearly shows that Jesus loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus very much. 

At the beginning of the Gospel, Jesus receives bad news about Lazarus’s health: “Lord, your friend is sick.”(John 11:3)… Read more »

Open letter to the members of the Parliament of Malta

02/12/2022

A letter from the Bishops of Malta and Gozo was sent yesterday, 1st December 2022, to the members of the Parliament of Malta about the amendment proposed on the termination of pregnancy.

Dear Sir/Madam,

We wish to express our profound concern, shared by many others, over the contents of Bill no. 28 of 2022 which, if approved by Parliament as proposed, will permit abortion to take place in Malta… Read more »

Let us protect every human life with great care

Pastoral Note by the Bishops of Malta and Gozo

02/12/2022

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception which we shall celebrate next Thursday, 8th December, is a very dear feast to us Maltese. It is a feast that gives an important message even by its very name which has such great meaning – “conception” – as it reminds us that we celebrate Mary from the moment of her conception. She is without stain from the first moment of her conception… Read more »

Welcoming the herald of mercy

Pastoral Letter for Lent 2022

26/02/2022

The Pastoral Letter by the Bishops

“After we had reached safety, we then learned that the island was called Malta. The natives showed us unusual kindness. Since it had begun to rain and was cold, they kindled a fire and welcomed all of us around it” (Acts 28:1-2).

Every time we read these verses from Chapter 28 of the Acts of the Apostles and hear the name of Malta, our hearts become aflame and a shiver of emotion runs down our spine… Read more »

Building a society based on care and solidarity

Pastoral Letter for Lent 2021

20/02/2021

The Pastoral Letter by the Bishops

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In today’s Gospel, Jesus invites us to “Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:15). He calls us to embrace the Good News and delve deeper into the essence of our faith, as Jesus himself explains: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16)… Read more »

Let us welcome Pope Francis with an open heart – Pastoral Letter by the Bishops

Apostolic Journey to Malta by his Holiness Pope Francis

10/02/2020

Dear brothers and sisters,

It is with great joy that we welcome the news that His Holiness Pope Francis will visit Malta on the 31st May 2020, the Solemnity of Pentecost.

Last January, in his meditation on the passage from the Acts of the Apostles that narrates St Paul’s shipwreck on Malta, Pope Francis had beautiful words for the Maltese people who welcomed Paul and all those on the ship… Read more »