Pope Francis left Rome at 8:30 in the morning to begin his apostolic journey to the island of Malta off the southern tip of Sicily.
The Vatican announced that before heading to the airport, the Pope met with a group of Ukrainian refugees staying in Rome. The first of the Pope's interactions with migrants and refugees over the weekend, which is expected to be a central theme of his two-day trip.
For the first time on a papal trip, Pope Francis did not climb up the stairs to board his plane, but was taken up with this elevator, a sign that the knee pain he has been experiencing in recent days continues to bother him.
Aboard the papal plane, he greeted journalists and kept his comments on the trip brief.
It is short, but it will be nice.
In responding to their questions, he said a future trip to Kyiv is on the table.
After the hour and and a half flight, the Pope landed in Malta, and again used an elevator to come down the plane.
The Pope was met on the tarmac by the president of Malta, George Vella, and his wife, before being offered flowers by two children as a sign of welcome. They were both excited to receive rosaries blessed by the Pope.
He was then greeted by Malta's prime minister, Robert Abela, who had visited Pope Francis at the Vatican last October.
A band then performed the national anthems of both Malta and the Vatican.
The Pope and the president then proceeded to the airports' presidential lounge where they met for about 15 minutes. Pope Francis then boarded a white Fiat 500 to travel to the Grandmaster's Palace in Valleta, which houses the office of the president, for a meeting with Malta's civil leaders and diplomatic corps.
JM
