Pope John Paul II has arrived in Malta

Pope John Paul II has arrived in Malta for his first visit to the island in 11 years.

The 80-year-old pontiff is due to celebrate Mass on the island on Wednesday in the latest part of his journey which has taken in Greece and Syria.

The two-day stop should offer him the chance to catch his breath after dealing with Middle East conflicts and the 1,000-year estrangement between the Vatican and the Eastern Orthodox churches.

Nearly 98 percent of Malta's 392,000 people are baptised Roman Catholic and identity with the faith is strong.

The pope will also fulfill a dream for many in Malta by beatifying a beloved local priest, Rev. George Preca, who founded a religious society that reached out to the common workers and their families.

Beatification is the last formal step before possible sainthood.

Preca, who died in 1962, overcame initial obstacles from the Roman Catholic leadership in Malta to establish the Society of Christian Doctrine, a group of lay men and women who pledge themselves to celibacy, missionary work and a routine of private prayer.

The society now has about 1,100 active members and operates schools in Malta and six other countries, including Australia and Peru.

The remains of Preca have been moved to a raised tomb at the society's main church, and the pope plans to view an effigy of the body in a glass enclosure.

The Pope's six-day itinerary has been built around the journeys of the Paul, who the Bible says spent three months preaching in Malta after being shipwrecked in 60 AD while being taken to Rome for trial.