Valetta, Malta

There is no place in the world like Malta.

It’s hard to know where to begin in describing Malta. One could start at 5200 BC when Neolithic settlements were here. Or one might start with the event described in the Acts of the Apostles when St. Paul was shipwrecked here and converted some of the local population. You could start in Africa or in Europe. This little group of islands in the middle of the Mediterranean between Sicily and Africa contains cultural elements of both places.

Maybe you should start with their language—Maltese. It is the only Semitic language written with Roman letters. It is spoken nowhere else in the world. It sounds something like Arabic, but it looks like Latin, except for lots of strange consonant combinations, like double x’s, for example. It’s weird. And if all of that were not strange enough, Malta hosts the Military order of St. John Hospitallers, an order of knights like nothing else in the world.

This order of knights requires some explanation. As Muslim armies began to conquer North Africa and move into Europe in the eighth century, Malta was strategically important to Christendom. Being a tiny place, however, Malta later became a royal plaything, given to several noble European couples at various times as a wedding present after the Muslim tide receded.

In the sixteenth century the strategic advantages of Malta became rather important again. Piracy (and Islam) again became a problem in this part of the world, and Charles Vof Spain, who happened to own Malta at that time, really did not have the resources to deal with the troubles occurring here. Back during the Crusades there had been an order of Knights Hospitallers commissioned by the Pope in Rome to build hospitals for crusaders who were injured in the holy wars against Muslims. Later, when the fighting near Jerusalem died down, these knights built and operated hospitals and inns for pilgrims to the Holy Land. Periodically, though, things in the Holy Land would heat up, and the Knights Hospitallers of St. John were not above picking up sword and armor in their efforts to keep the Christians in Palestine and in the Mediterranean safe. They were healers, but they were also fighters.

By the sixteenth century most of these knights had been recalled from the Holy Land back to Rome, but they were still under the control of the Pope, and they were still a commissioned military force. Spanish King Charles needed an army in Malta, and the Pope said that he just happened to have one Charles could borrow—the Knights Hospitallers of St. John.

Charles gave Malta to The Military Order of the Knights of St. John. They came here and set up military rule and started, well, to kick you-know-what. They got rid of the pirates and restored stability. At first the local population was pretty happy with the change. Things here improved under their martial law. Many churches were built (as you might expect), trade increased (the Knights Hospitallers had connections), and things were pretty good for a couple of hundred years.

By the beginning of the nineteenth century, though, the Maltese got tired of the heavy-handed rule of the knights and welcomed Napoleon’s takeover of the islands. The Knights Hospitallers of St. John were called back to Vatican City. Within just a couple of years, the French had used up Malta like an old Dixie cup, and the Maltese asked for the British to oust the French. Lord Nelson was happy to help, and Malta became a British colony around 1815 until Britain gave Malta independence in 1964.

There are lots of very interesting things about this lovely place. One of the most interesting things is that the Military Order of the Knights of St. John Hospitallers still exists. Though they do not have a nation to rule, the Military Order of the Knights of St. John Hospitallers are still a sovereign nation—with no nation! They still reside within the Vatican. A small group of them is now back in Malta, but without political power. They attend the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, where they have voice but no vote. With the possible exception of the Vatican itself, they may be the oldest sovereign entity in the world.

Malta is beautiful. Queen Elizabeth II of England and Prince Phillip spent their honeymoon here, and I can see why. She still says that her year in Malta was the happiest time of her life. The land is lovely, but so are its buildings. We saw dozens of churches, palaces, and other baroque buildings whose opulent glory defies description. We went to three different towns on the island: Valletta, Mdina and Mosta. Each of those has a church that too beautiful for words. I will simply say that there is no place in the world like Malta. I’ve got to come back here and stay about a month.Read more