Bishop of Malta
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Archdiocese of Malta Archidioecesis Melitensis o Melevitanus Arċidjoċesi ta' Malta |
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| Location | |
| Country | Malta |
| Territory | Island of Malta |
| Ecclesiastical province | Malta |
| Metropolitan | Malta |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 246 km2 (95 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2013) 413,000 380,000 (92%) |
| Parishes | 76 |
| Churches | 460 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Established | 60 AD (As Diocese of Malta) 1 January 1944 (As Archdiocese of Malta) |
| Cathedral | St. Paul's Cathedral, Mdina |
| Co-cathedral | St John's Co-Cathedral |
| Patron saint |
St Paul Publius Prince of Malta St Agatha |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Charles J. Scicluna |
| Suffragans | Diocese of Gozo |
| Vicar General | Joseph Galea Curmi |
| Emeritus Bishops | Paul Cremona |
| Map | |
 The Archdiocese of Malta in dark green |
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| Website | |
| Website of the Archdiocese | |
The Archdiocese of Malta (Malti: Arċidjoċesi ta' Malta) is a metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in Malta.
Tradition claims that St Paul himself established the diocese of Malta in the year 60 A.D when he ordained the Roman governor, Publius, the first Maltese saint, as the first bishop of Malta. Thus with this act Malta became one of the first countries to convert to Christianity in the world and the first to do so in the west. The Diocese of Malta was made a suffragan seat to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Palermo by a Papal Bull of Pope Adrian IV on 10 July 1156 and confirmed by Pope Alexander III on 26 April 1160. The former Diocese of Malta, which is one of the oldest dioceses in the world, 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.
There are two cathedrals in the diocese: The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Paul, in Mdina, and the Co-Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, located in Valletta.
Coordinates: 35°56′14.99″N 14°22′31.5″E / 35.9374972°N 14.375417°E
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Wikipedia