A Vatican delegation is in Malta to finalise the programme for Pope Benedict's visit in April and also to discuss security issues.

The Pope will arrive in Malta in the afternoon of Saturday April 17 and will meet President George Abela and other dignitaries at the Palace in Valletta. He will then visit St Paul's Grotto in Rabat.

The highlight of his visit will be reached on Sunday morning, April 18, when he celebrates Mass on the Granaries, as Pope John Paul II had done when he came to Malta in 1990.

His Holiness will later tour Cottonera on his Popemobile and cross from Kalkara to Valletta Waterfront on a catamaran for a meeting with young people.

That activity too is a throwback to the 1990 visit when the Pope entered Grand Harbour on a catamaran on his return from Gozo. He had been accompanied by a flotilla of boats, and the authorities are now working to avoid the danger to small boats caused by the larger boats in 1990.

The Vatican delegation this morning also crossed from Kalkara to Valletta Waterfront on a catamaran to assess security risks.

Pope Benedict returns to Rome later on April 18.