Oliver Friggieri's funeral on Wednesday as government declares day of mourning

The funeral of Oliver Friggieri will take place at 2pm on Wednesday at St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, the government said as it declared a day of mourning to salute the poet and writer.

Funeral mass will be celebrated by Archbishop Charles Scicluna, the government said in a statement on Tuesday.

Friggieri passed away on 21 November. He was an intellectual, a poet, novelist, literary critic, and minor philosopher.

The government decided for a State-organised funeral in honour of Friggieri and his “extraordinary contribution” to the country.

The government said that Wednesday will also be an official day of mourning. "Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar has officially written to Permanent Secretaries, Directors General, Directors and Heads of Public Entities to fly flags on public buildings tomorrow at half-mast," the statement said.

The funeral procession will leave Mater Dei Hospital at 12:45pm to the University of Malta where Friggieri spent decades lecturing in the Department of Maltese, where he also served as head of department and professor of literature.

From there, the funeral procession will proceed to his private residence in Fleur-de-Lys, and in front of the St Publius church in Floriana, Friggieri's birthplace, where he will be greeted by the Floriana Local Council and the parish clergy.

After the funeral procession will proceed to St John's Co-Cathedral. At the end of the mass, the funeral will continue in a strictly private form.

The government said that due to the pandemic, only those who receive an official invitation will be allowed to enter St John's Co-Cathedral.

The mass will be broadcast on TVM, and the Maltagov Facebook page.

READ MORE: Oliver Friggieri, intellectual who articulated nation’s consciousness, passes away