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10th February – The Shipwreck of St
Paul on Malta’s shores
In
1922 Joseph De Piro published the first edition
of “St Paul: Almanac of the Institute of the
Missions.” He continued publishing it until his
death in 1933. In these almanacs the Servant of
God referred to the Shipwreck of St Paul:
“Since early childhood we are used to
listen about the shipwreck of Our Father,
the Apostle Saint Paul, on our shores. We
are happy to think and reflect about this
kindness of Providence toward us when it
sent us the first Missionary to convert us
from the darkness of paganism and enlighten
us by christian faith. We reflect the more
on this wonderful fact when we remember that
when Saint Paul left the East, he had no
intention of coming to Malta. This act of
Providence in what happened between Saint
Paul and Malta …” (Almanac 1929, p. 217)
Writing about the indigenous clergy thee Founder
of the Missionary Society of St Paul made two
references to Publius’ consecration by Paul:
“When
the Apostle Paul embarked on our island and
preached the doctrine of Jesus Christ, he
consecrated Saint Publius as Bishop so as to
keep and develop the teaching which he had
left”
(Almanac 1929, p. 240).
“Therefore, what the gloriously reigning
Pope, the Pope of the Missions, Pope Pius XI
is saying is completely right. He says that
it seems that we have not reflected enough
how the Church of Christ spread in the
beginning and what the Apostles did to those
early gatherings of christians. Together
with teaching and baptism they also made
provisions for those who must keep kindled
the light of faith. Let us take our own
example. Our father Saint Paul left Publius,
the Prince of our Island at the time, before
departing. He could ordain priests and in
that way he could not only keep the Faith of
Christ but also confirm it more and more”
(Almanac 1931, p. 332).
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