A statue featuring Ħamrun’s patron saint will leave Malta for Rome next month, accompanied by almost 1,000 people from the locality.

This will be the first time the life-size statue of St Cajetan will leave the parish church since it was completed by sculptor Carlo Darmanin in 1885.

The papier-mâché statue, which also features the Madonna and Child, will be mounted on a trailer and cross by sea to Italy before being driven to Rome, where it will stay for the whole month.

Its 1,000-kilometre journey is to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the foundation of the Order of Theatines, based in Italy’s capital. The statue will be placed in the Basilica of Sant’Andrea della Valle, which does not have its own titular statue, and will be used in a procession on September 14 from there to the Vatican’s St Peter’s, where it is expected to stay for a few days.

Eight men are needed to carry the statue of St Cajetan during the feast, taking place in Ħamrun this week.

Roderick Cristina, from one of the locality’s two band clubs, said around 1,000 people from Ħamrun are expected to attend. “The event means a lot to us,” he said.

The Soċjetà Mużikali San Ġużepp alone, of which he is the assistant secretary, will be taking up a planeload of 225 people, including a band of 44 musicians it invited to participate in the Rome festivities, as well as accompanying supporters.

He said some did not fit on the flight and plan to travel on another airline.

It will be costing the society around €45,000 to take the band to the Italian capital and that does not include people who will travelling with the other club, Għaqda tal-Mużika San Gejtanu, those from the Church or anyone going on their own initiative.

The statue has not left the parish since it was created in 1885.

The organisation has involved hard work and expenses but it is an occasion that will be remembered, Cristina said. “We are there,” he added about fundraising for the event.

Some eight men are needed to carry the statue during the Ħamrun feast of San Gejtanu, the Maltese name for the saint, which takes place this week.

A contingent of around 500 people will also be attending the Rome commemoration from Central and South America, where the Theatines have a strong presence.

Cristina said it was the Maltese ambassador to the Vatican, Frank Zammit, who had asked if the basilica in Rome had its own statue for the procession and festivities and offered to lend Ħamrun’s.

He explained that, elsewhere, busts are more common and statues were not as “big” as Malta’s.

The St Joseph band club has created a new logo for the occasion.

The necessary permits were obtained from the Curia and the parish priest.

Preparations to transport the statue have been under way for a year now and everyone was doing their part, said Cristina.

The society’s programme also includes a performance by the St Joseph Band at a procession at the saint’s shrine in Naples and the other club has its own activities lined up too.

Speaking about the "historical pilgrimage", the Ghaqda tal-Muzika San Gejtanu said it will be performing at the music academy of the Basilica of San Andrea della Valle in Rome, in Serrone and in Naples.

Its commemorative programme for the 500th anniversary has been going on since last year and will culminate in an original play on the Theatines, with which it has a long-standing relationship, in November.

The statue depicts a vision from Christmas Eve of 1517 when parishioners were said to have experienced mystic visions of their patron saint while praying and meditating inside Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome. In one vision, the Madonna placed her son Jesus in the arms of St Cajetan, who is renowned as the saint of providence.

St Cajetan was an Italian Catholic priest and religious reformer, one of the founders of the Order of Theatines.

Cristina said the Ħamruniżi were filled with pride to have their titular statue travel beyond the confines of their town and go to Rome, considered the home of the Catholic Church. Being on display in the Vatican – the spiritual heart of Christianity – was also deeply meaningful to them.