“L-Innu Malti” was first performed on February 3, 1923. The author of the anthem’s lyrics, Dun Karm Psaila, (Malta’s national poet), was originally commissioned to write a school hymn to already-existing music, written the year before. He thought of the idea of a national anthem in the form of a prayer, to bind together the political parties and the country with the commonality of prayer.The Maltese government declared the anthem as the official Maltese anthem on 22 February 1941. The Independence Constitution 1964 confirmed it as the National Anthem of Malta, which is today one of the symbols of Maltese identity.