Shortletsmalta Magazine 2016 | Page 37

damask and gold under-tones. The solemn Mass is consecrated on the Sunday of the festa week, in a service which usually takes place during the late afternoon. Then the procession commences, during which local men haul the patron saint’s statue on their shoulders, and walk through the streets of the town or village, in a sacred commemoration and adoration of the saint it represents. 35