Malta and the Holy See : history, diplomacy, and a shared institutional trajectory

Abstract

The relationship between Malta and the Holy See is the result of a long historical process shaped by geography, faith, and political change. Rooted in the island’s early Christian memory and consolidated through centuries of ecclesiastical and civil interaction, this relationship entered a decisive new phase in the mid-twentieth century with Malta’s transition to statehood and the subsequent establishment of formal diplomatic relations. The commemorations marking the sixtieth anniversary of these relations offer an opportunity to reflect on the evolution of a distinctive model of Church–State engagement within a modern democratic framework. [excerpt]