Crowds throng Valletta for feast of St Paul's shipwreck

Video by Ray Attard

Valletta basked in an atmosphere of good-natured fun this afternoon, as the capital city marked the feast of St.Paul’s Shipwreck with band marches, beer and shredded paper. 

Lots of shredded paper.

The weather held, much to the relief of feast enthusiasts, allowing tourists and residents of Valletta to throng the capital’s narrow streets for the celebration of the arrival of St. Paul the Apostle in Malta in 60AD.

Earlier in the day, members of parliament from both sides of the house attended a mass at St. Paul’s Church, celebrated by Apostolic Administrator Charles Scicluna.

Once the band started to play, it was only a matter of minutes before St. Paul’s Street was coated in a thick layer of shredded paper flakes, descending in a seemingly unending stream from balconies lining the route - much to the delight of the many children who were throwing handfuls of the paper at each other and passers-by, journalists included.

Tourists from the USA, Denmark, Ireland, UK and Far East were also clearly enjoying the congenial atmosphere and the fair, if chilly, weather.  “We’ve never seen anything like it before,” giggled two girls from Belfast, clearly enjoying themselves.

One young man from Sweden was impressed at the scale of the celebrations. “It’s really big. I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.