Pope prays for kindness to refugees as he wraps Malta visit

Pope Francis is praying for the world to show more kindness to refugees as he pays tribute in Malta to the shipwrecked St. Paul and meets with migrants who, like the apostle, arrived on the Mediterranean island and were welcomed

VALLETTA, Malta -- Pope Francis prayed Sunday for the world to show more kindness and compassion to refugees as he paid tribute in Malta to the shipwrecked St. Paul and meets with migrants who, like the apostle, arrived on the Mediterranean island and were welcomed.

Francis opened his second and final day in Malta by visiting the Grotto of St. Paul in Rabat, where the disciple stayed after being shipwrecked en route to Rome in AD 60. According to the biblical account of the period, the Maltese people showed Paul unusual kindness, and he responded by preaching and healing, bringing Christianity to the islands.

“No one knew their names, their place of birth or their social status; they knew only one thing: that these were people in need of help,” Francis said in a prayer. “Help us to recognize from afar those in need, struggling amidst the waves of the sea, dashed against the reefs of unknown shores.”

The 85-year-old pope repeatedly struggled to walk and get up from his chair, evidence of the knee pain that has seemingly grown more pronounced on the trip. Francis nevertheless persevered, and while in the gilded basilica got up out of his chair to bless someone in a wheelchair.