EDIT: Pope Benedict will visit Malta on the 17th April 2010 and Sunday 18th April 2010, Archbishop Paul Cremona announced at the end of the 5th Catechetical Congress today. The Pope will visit youths at the Valletta Waterfront.

Originally published on 12th September 2009:
Pope Benedict XVI is set to visit Malta next april 2010, this is expected to be a one day visit, media reports said today.

Dr Alberto Gasbarri, the person responsible for the Pope’s voyages, will be in Malta next month for this purpose, the Curia confirmed.
The Maltese Government welcomed the announcement of the Pope’s visit on behalf of the Maltese people.

Last June, President George Abela invited the Pope to Malta. It will be Pope Benedict’s first visit to Malta.

Mass on the Granaries in Floriana will be the highlight of the visit which will be held to mark the 1950th anniversary of the arrival of St Paul in Malta.

Pope John Paul II had visited Malta twice – in 1990 and in 2001, the latter for the beatification ceremony of three Maltese.