If you grew up assuming Malta only got an archbishop in the 20th century, you’re basically right, but also not. On 3 March 1797, Pope Pius VI issued a papal brief that gave the Bishop of Malta archiepiscopal dignity by attaching to the Maltese see a prestigious titular title, Archbishop of Rhodes. The first man to carry it was Vincenzo Labini, who from that point could be styled Archbishop of Rhodes and Bishop of Malta. That wording matters because it wasn’t the same thing as

By late February 1676, Malta was no longer dealing with a rumour, a “bad fever”, or a handful of suspicious deaths. It was dealing with a full-blown public health disaster, and the island’s administration under the Order of St John was being forced into decisions that were both brutally practical and politically explosive. They restricted movement, isolated the sick, policed the population, and kept a port economy functioning while the disease tore through the Grand Harbour t