Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta

Archdiocese of Malta Archidioecesis Melitensis o Melevitanus Arċidjoċesi ta' Malta
St. Paul's Cathedral, Mdina
Location
Country	Malta
Territory	Island of Malta
Ecclesiastical province	Malta
Metropolitan	Malta
Statistics
Area	246 km2 (95 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2013) 413,000 380,000 (92%)
Parishes	76
Churches	460
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Latin Rite
Established	60 AD (As Diocese of Malta) 1 January 1944 (As Archdiocese of Malta)
Cathedral	St. Paul's Cathedral, Mdina
Co-cathedral	St John's Co-Cathedral
Patron saint	St Paul Publius Prince of Malta St Agatha
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Metropolitan Archbishop	Charles J. Scicluna
Suffragans	Diocese of Gozo
Vicar General	Joseph Galea Curmi
Emeritus Bishops	Joseph Mercieca Paul Cremona
Map
The Archdiocese of Malta in dark green
Website
Website of the Archdiocese

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The Archdiocese of Malta (Malti: Arċidjoċesi ta' Malta^[1]) is a metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in Malta.^[2]

Origins

Tradition claims that St Paul himself established the diocese of Malta in the year 60 A.D when he ordained the Roman governor, Publius, the first Maltese saint, as the first bishop of Malta. Thus with this act Malta became one of the first countries to convert to Christianity in the world and the first to do so in the west. The Diocese of Malta was made a suffragan seat to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Palermo by a Papal Bull of Pope Adrian IV on 10 July 1156 and confirmed by Pope Alexander III on 26 April 1160. The former Diocese of Malta, which is one of the oldest dioceses in the world, was elevated to archdiocese on January 1, 1944. Before 1864, the Diocese of Malta included the islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino respectively. On September 22, 1864 the diocese lost the territories of Gozo and Comino when Pope Pius IX established the Diocese of Gozo which became a suffragan diocese to Malta.

Co-Cathedral of St John in Valletta

Cathedrals

There are two cathedrals in the diocese: The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Paul, in Mdina, and the Co-Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, located in Valletta.

Important dates

• 22 January (previously 21 January) - Memorial of Saint Publius a Maltese Saint (First bishop of Malta)
• 5 February - Memorial of St Agatha (Patron of the Archdiocese)
• 10 February - Solemnity of the Shipwreck of St Paul (Patron of Malta)
• 25 February - Memorial of Blessed Maria Adeodata Pisani
• 9 May - Feast of St George Preca (First Maltese canonized saint in recent times)
• 1 July - Memorial of Blessed Nazju Falzon
• 8 October - Dedication of the Metropolitan Cathedral

Suffragan

• Diocese of Gozo

Bishops of Malta

Auxiliary Bishops of Malta

• Annetto Casolani (1848–1866)
• Michael Franciscus Buttigieg (1863–1864)
• Salvatore Gaffiero (1899–1906)
• Paolo Rosario Farrugia, (1907)
• Angelo Portelli, (1911–1927)
• Emmanuele Galea, (1942–1974)
• Emanuele Gerada, (1967–1968)
• Joseph Mercieca, (1974–1976)
• Annetto Depasquale, (1998–2011)
• Charles J. Scicluna (2012–2015)

See also

• Culture of Malta
• History of Malta
• List of Churches in Malta
• List of monasteries and convents in Malta
• Religion in Malta

References

• Outline of Maltese History 1971 AC. Aquilina & Co; Appendix III.

External links

• Archdiocese of Malta
• Bishops of Malta
•  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Malta". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 

Coordinates: 35°56′14.99″N 14°22′31.5″E / 35.9374972°N 14.375417°E / 35.9374972; 14.375417