Today marks the 73rd anniversary since the Maltese Diocese was upgraded to an Archdiocese. The war in Malta had just ended and Mgr Michael Gonzi had been Archbishop for less than three months.
After St Publius, the first bishop of Malta, these islands became part of a number of Italian dioceses. The Diocese of Malta was eventually made a suffragan seat to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Palermo by a Papal bull of Pope Adrian IV on July 10, 1156 and confirmed by Pope Alexander III on April 26, 1160.
Between the year 60 and 1684 there is a record of 95 bishops, but there are obvious gaps in the chronology. From 1684 onwards there have since been 19 bishops. The first 16 bishops are properly depicted in the Floriana parish church on the windows along the nave. The latest three archbishops are not yet portrayed but Mgr Ġużeppi Mercieca, Mgr Paul Cremona and Mgr Charles Scicluna will be shortly.
As the main church dedicated to the first Bishop of Malta, I strongly encourage that a list of all bishops as successors to St Publius be included in marble plaques, as is the case of the popes buried in St Peter’s.
It is pertinent to point out that the Knights of St John had from their very first days on these Islands appreciated the great Maltese saint. It was the Order of St John that had built the first chapel in Floriana, which eventually was enlarged to the present church. Successive grandmasters had lobbied with the Holy See and the Popes, so much so that in 1634, Pope Urbanus VIII not only formally canonised St Publius but also nominated him as co-patron of the islands, together with St Paul.
The Knights were not happy to be subjected to Palermo and, in 1684, Bishop Davide Cocco Palmieri became the first independent Bishop of the Maltese Islands. Bishop Cocco Palmieri was consecrated on June 4, 1684, which means that Malta has been an independent diocese for 333 years. The Diocese of Malta, which is one of the oldest dioceses in the world and created by St Paul himself, 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.
It must be stressed that St Publius, at the age of 55, after having served in Malta for 30 years, was sent to Athens where for six years he helped St Dionysius the Areopagite, the first Bishop of that city. According to the Greek Encyclopedia, in the year 96, St Dionysius was seized, tortured and beheaded under the reign of Emperor Domitian.
Always according to the authoritative classic Greek traditions and writings, St Publius, as the second bishop of Athens, continued with the good work and eventually died a martyr among the lions in the year AD 118 aged 83.
These are major aspects of our history.