Malta in the Jubilee Year: A quieter pilgrimage of hope

(OSV News) -- As the Catholic Church celebrates the Jubilee Year of 2025, Malta is quietly emerging as one of its most compelling pilgrimage destinations -- a place where spiritual renewal unfolds not amid the crowds of Rome, but along lesser-known paths shaped by centuries of faith, resilience and cultural continuity.

The Jubilee Year -- proclaimed by Pope Francis under the theme "Pilgrims of Hope" -- officially opened Dec. 24, 2024, and will continue through Jan. 6, 2026. Rome remains its ceremonial heart, but Malta offers something distinct: a pilgrimage experience rooted in local tradition and marked by contemplative encounters.

Positioned at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, Malta offers a deeply layered Christian heritage. Its identity is shaped by the legacy of St. Paul, whose shipwreck and ministry on the island in the first century left a lasting mark, and by a widespread, enduring Marian devotion that continues to define its sacred calendar -- and, thus, everyday life.

Here, pilgrimage is not an orchestrated procession but an invitation into slower rhythms -- through limestone villages, coastal shrines and grottoes etched with history. It is a land where faith is not only preserved but lived, and where the Jubilee finds intimate, resonant expression.

The Jubilee's formal opening in Rome was marked by the opening of the Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica, a centuries-old ritual signifying entry into a year of grace and reconciliation. Pilgrims in Rome often follow the traditional Seven Churches route or the Iter Europaeum itinerary, connecting national churches that honor the church's global character.

Among these is the Church of St. Paul at the Three Fountains -- associated with Paul's martyrdom -- and a symbolic point of connection to Malta, where his journey to Rome first paused.

Unlike the broad ceremonial routes of Rome, Malta offers pilgrims a different kind of sacred journey. The Melita Mariana pilgrimage (melitamariana.mt/), a pilgrimage developed by XirCammini in collaboration with VisitMalta (visitmalta.com/en/), stretches across 60 kilometers and three days, tracing the islands' profound devotion to Mary. It passes through chapels carved into cliffsides, town churches decorated with centuries-old banners, and quiet Marian shrines seldom noted on tourist maps.

This pilgrimage follows the Jubilee themes of mercy, faith and hope in enduring acts of community and prayer.

In Malta, Marian devotion is not confined to annual feast days or specific sites; it shapes the cultural atmosphere of the whole archipelago. The Assumption -- Santa Marija Assunta -- is the most widely celebrated feast, drawing entire communities into public devotion on Aug. 15.

Yet pilgrims will find the deeper pulse of Marian faith in places like the Chapel of Our Lady of Good Hope in Mosta, and above all at the national shrines of Our Lady of Mellieha (Malta) and Our Lady of Ta' Pinu (Gozo). Here, the Jubilee's message of hope finds clear expression in personal testimonies and communal memory.

According to the Acts of the Apostles, St. Paul's arrival in Malta in 60 A.D. was unplanned, the result of a shipwreck during a storm while he was en route to Rome. He remained for three months, healing the sick and sharing the message of Christianity. This moment transformed Malta's identity and became a cornerstone of its spiritual narrative.

Pilgrims today can retrace elements of that journey through the Peregrinatio Sancti Pavli Apostoli A.D. 60 (sanctipauli.mt), also developed by XirCammini in collaboration with VisitMalta, a route that includes St. Paul's Grotto in Rabat and the Church of St. Paul's Shipwreck in Valletta. Unlike many Pauline sites elsewhere, these remain closely integrated into daily life and local tradition -- places of quiet reverence rather than spectacle.

In 2023, Malta was formally incorporated into the Camino de Santiago network with the launch of the Camino Maltés de Santiago de Compostela (caminomaltes.mt), developed by XirCammini in collaboration with VisitMalta and Heritage Malta (heritagemalta.mt). This 3,600-kilometer pilgrimage begins in Malta and continues by sea and land across the Mediterranean and continental Europe, culminating in Santiago de Compostela, where tradition holds that the remains of St. James the Apostle lie buried?.

The Maltese route offers pilgrims a compelling starting point: a sacred island long tied to the wider Christian world through the legacy of the Knights Hospitaller, who historically provided refuge for pilgrims en route to Spain. The Camino Maltés draws on this memory, beginning at St. Paul's Grotto and winding through centuries-old chapels, catacombs and village churches, before pilgrims depart Malta's shores for the Camino's traditional paths.

Pilgrims walking the Camino Maltés trace not only a physical journey but a transhistorical one -- one that moves through Roman catacombs, Crusader strongholds, medieval altars and open fields. It also revives earlier traditions: The historical record includes a 17th-century Credencial issued to a Maltese pilgrim, granting safe passage from Malta to Compostela.

For American Catholics considering a pilgrimage during the Jubilee Year, Malta offers something rare: a sacred journey that invites restfulness, reflection and authenticity. English is widely spoken. The islands are compact and walkable. And while the sites may not carry the grandeur of Rome, they do carry the gravity of lived tradition: Malta is one of the most ancient cradles of Christianity.

Malta's spiritual character has been forged through centuries of challenge. From the Ottoman siege of 1565 to the air raids of World War II, the archipelago's people have responded to crises with resilience anchored in collective memory, faith and hope.

For pilgrims, this legacy offers a powerful lens through which to reflect on hope -- one that echoes the Jubilee's call not toward escape, but toward engagement and endurance.