People came “not for the singer, but for the song”

The Pope’s visit drew more people than anticipated, the bishops of Malta and Gozo said in a press conference reviewing the visit today.

Archbishop Paul Cremona OP of Malta said the main protagonists in the story of the Papal visit had been the Maltese people who had come out to greet him in such large numbers. He said the Pope’s visit was a call to the faithful to give witness to their faith and evangelise by incarnating what they believe in “then give it to society at large and that does not depend on the Church as an institution”.

He said: “The Church has to give guidance but it depends, and this is what the Pope said, on every person who accepts this as the Good News. We have to give it from person to person.”

Meanwhile the Bishop of Gozo Mario Grech said God had spoken on Sunday because of all the people who had come out to welcome the Pope. Bishop Grech was surprised by the size of the turnout, which he said showed that there was an inner call to each person.