The Acts of the Apostles tells the story of how Paul of Tarsus was shipwrecked in Malta on his way from Caesarea Maritima to Rome, sent by Porcius Festus, procurator of Judea, to stand trial before the Emperor.
In 588 Tucillus, Miletinae civitatis episcopus, was deposed by Pope Gregory I and his successor, Trajan, was elected by the clergy and people of Malta in 599 AD.
The last recorded Bishop of Malta before the Arab invasion was a Greek by the name of Manas, who was subsequently incarcerated in Palermo.
[3] The Jewish population of Malta reached a peak in the Middle Ages under Norman rule, which began in 1090, with 500 living on the main island and 350 on Gozo.
During his very short stay (six days), he accomplished quite a number of reforms, notably the creation of a new administration with a Government Commission, the creation of twelve municipalities, the setting up of a public finance administration, the abolition of all feudal rights and privileges, the abolition of slavery and the granting of freedom to all Turkish slaves.
Fifteen primary schools were founded and the university was replaced by an ’Ecole centrale’ in which there were eight chairs, all very scientific in outlook: notably, arithmetic and stereometry, algebra and stereotomy, geometry and astronomy, mechanics and physics, navigation, chemistry, etc.
Rear Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson decided on a total blockade, and in 1800 the French garrison surrendered.
British rule lasted 150 years until 1964 when Malta gained independence and brought the first sizeable population of members of the Anglican church and other Protestant denominations.
Instrumental in this effort were a young priest named Don Pietro Pace, who would several years later serve as Bishop of Gozo, and Sir Adriano Dingli, Crown Advocate.
One year later, on September 16, 1864, the Pope issued a Bull entitled "Singulari Amore" (With remarkable Love), which decreed that the Islands of Gozo and Comino were separated from the Diocese of Malta.