Details announced on the State Funeral of Dom Mintoff

The Government has announced the details of the State Funeral on Saturday of the former Prime Minister, Dom Mintoff who passed away on Monday.

Dom Mintoff’s body is to lie in state for the public to view at the entrance of the Palace in Valletta on Friday, the 24th of August between 9.00am and 1.00p.m. and then from 4.00pm to 7.00pm.

At 9.05am the President will pay his respects, he will be followed at 9.10am by the Prime Minister and at 9.15am by the Leader of the Opposition.

On Saturday the body will lie in state between 7.30am and 9.30am.

At 9.45am the cortège will leave the Palace for St John’s Co-Cathedral where Mass praesente cadavere will be celebrated by Archbishop Pawlu Cremona at 10.30am.

At 11.45am the cortège will leave the cathedral and travel through Merchants’ Street, going past the Auberge de Castille and then down Glormu Cassar Avenue to the War Memorial in Floriana. The funeral will continue in private from there.

The details for Thursday are as follows:

At 4.00pm Dom Mintoff’s coffin will be carried to the hearse that will then travel to the Parish Church of Tarxien, the local community, led by the mayor will pay its tribute.

The funeral cortège will then move on to Senglea.

At 4.30pm the hearse is due to arrive at the Senglea Parish Church, there, the local community will pay its tribute and accompany the coffin through Victory Street to the Senglea Band Club.

The cortège will leave Victory Street at 4.50pm and travel towards Macina through Triq ix-Xatt and to Xatt ir-Risq in Vittoriosa.

The hearse is due to arrive at the Freedom Monument at 5.05pm, where ‘Tema 79’ from the rock opera ‘Gensna’ will be sung b Mary Spiteri, which celebates Malta’s endeavours to liberate itself from colonial rule.

The Vittoriosa community will pay its tribute at 5.20pm in Victory Square.

Then at 5.40pm the hearse will move on and travel towards Cospicua accompanied by the community leaders of Kalkara and Kalkara Band Clubs.

The hearse will arrive in front of the Labour Party Club in Cospicua at 5.55pm, where it will be welcomed by the local community and Archpriest Joseph Mifsud will then lead the cortège to the Cospicua Parish Church.

The coffin will be carried from the church to the hearse and leave towards Marsa at 6.30pm.

The hearse will be welcomed by the Marsa community at 6.45pm, who will accompany it to the Marsa Parish Church before it travels to Blata l-Bajda Hamrun.

The Hamrun community will pay tribute to the hearse at 7.05pm and it will then continue towards the Labour Party Headquarters.

The hearse is due to arrive at the Labour Party Headquarters at 7.20pm. The coffin will be lifted and carried on shoulders while the Labour leadership, Officials and Members of Parliament pay their tribute. An aria from ‘Gensna’ will be sung by soprano Claire Caruana.

The hearse will leave and travel towards Valletta at 7.30pm.

The hearse is due to arrive at City Gate Valletta at 7.45pm where it will be welcomed by the Valletta Community. The Valletta band clubs will accompany the coffin though Republic Street to the Presidential Palace.

The cortège will arrive in front of the Presidential Palace at 8.30pm and the coffin will be placed in the main entrance where it will lie in state until Saturday morning.