Pope Benedict XVI is arriving in Malta on April 17 in the afternoon and will be meeting civil authorities as soon as he arrives, Archbishop Paul Cremona said this morning.

Speaking during a catechetical congress, Mgr Cremona said His Holiness, who is visiting on the occasion of the 1950th anniversary of St Paul's shipwreck, will visit St Paul's Grotto in the evening.

On April 18, the Pope will celebrate Mass at the Granaries in Floriana in the morning and meet young people at the Valletta Waterfront in the evening.

In a statement, the government welcomed news of the visit.

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