In what has been reported as a “rare gesture”, Pope Francis has commented on the death of a private citizen, Daphne Caruana Galizia.

This morning, the pope said he was praying for the Caruana Galizia family and the Maltese people as a whole “at this difficult moment”, carrying on to say he was “saddened by the tragic death” of the investigative journalist. 

The Pope during his weekly general audience this week. Photo by Alessandra Tarantino

A letter of condolences to Malta was also sent by the pope, addressed to Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna. The letter was signed by the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Archbishop Scicluna had been a longtime Vatican official before being made a bishop in Malta back in 2012. 

Daphne Caruana Galizia had quoted Pope Francis’ views on corruption in a blog entry back in May 2016. 

READ NEXT: A Shrine To Daphne Caruana Galizia Is Forming As People Lay Wreathes In Valletta

David Grech Urpani

Lovin Malta's Head of Content, Dave has been in journalism for the better half of the last decade. Prefers Instagram, but has been known to doomscroll on TikTok. Loves chicken, women's clothes and Kanye West (most of the time).