Sound system glitches, unexpected rainfall, logistical challenges – as well as powerful spiritual moments – characterised past papal visits, as recollected by those who were working backstage to ensure all ran smoothly.

Pope Francis will be the third pontiff to visit Malta when he arrives for a two-day visit.

The first papal visit took place from May 25 to 27, 1990 when Pope John Paul II landed to a rousing welcome.

He was back here on May 8, 2001, for the beatification of Dun Ġorġ Preca, Adeodata Pisani and Nazju Falzon.

On the second visit of Pope John Paul II to the island in 2001, he kissed rocks set in a plate upon landing as he was too weak to bend down and kiss the ground. PHOTOS: PAWLU MIZZI

Pope John Paul II

Charles Buttigieg coordinated the local and foreign media that covered both John Paul’s visits.

He recalls the logistical difficulties of running the media centres at a time when mobile phones did not exist and when the internet and digital photography were in their infancy.

One particular memory he has is of a sound system problem during the Mass at the Granaries, in Floriana, when a speaker failed to work.

There were also many safety concerns following the failed assassination attempt on the pope a few years earlier. As he shares a written collection of memories of the cherished events, some stand out.  One is of a touching moment during the pope’s 1990 visit to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mellieħa.

“When he arrived, he knelt down before the image of Our Lady. After some silence, he said three Hail Marys in Latin, then stood up and placed his hand on the image of Our Lady and banged three times. “He had a smile on his face. When he turned to walk back, his eyes met mine. The spiritual serenity I felt was indescribable,” he says.

When, in 2001, Buttigieg looked into his eyes again, he saw a tired, frail pope who had to take breaks between stops on his busy schedule to get medical assistance.

On his first visit, the pope had kneeled down to kiss the ground after landing. On his second, he was too weak, so rocks were lifted in a bowl for him to kiss.

Photographer Paul Mizzi recalls these moments, as the official photographer for both visits.

He had a smile on his face. When he turned to walk back, his eyes met mine. The spiritual serenity I felt was indescribable- Charles Buttigieg

Back then, there was no digital photography to speak of and no drones for the aerial shots. To get a shot of the crowd at the Granaries he was positioned on the roof of the Catholic Institute. To get aerial shots of the catamaran with pope aboard in 2001, his wife, Mariella, also a photographer, was on a plane.

A courier would then pick up the films and rush to get them developed and distributed to the waiting media.

Paul and his wife had their spiritual moments too. Mariella recalls that she was waiting for Pope John Paul II to leave the Apostolic Nunciature and when he walked out she was mesmerised.

“He was such a beautiful man. I froze. Until someone pushed me and I started taking photos,” she said. 

Paul had a similar experience in the corridors of the President’s Palace. “He was walking alone down a corridor. He was inches away from me. I could have kissed his hand but I froze,” he recalled.

Malta’s most recent papal visit was that of Pope Benedict XVI (left) who visited the island at the height of the clerical sex abuse scandal in 2010.

Pope Benedict XVI

Malta’s third papal visit was that of Pope Benedict XVI who visited for 27 hours between April 17 and 18, 2010. It was at the height of the clerical sex abuse scandal. 

Benedict met the Maltese victims for some 30 minutes at the Apostolic

Nunciature after Mass on the granaries. The victims later said it had been a “healing experience”.

“There was a meeting at the archbishop’s residence, in Attard to plan a strategy,” recalls Fr Joe Borg, who had been roped in to help on the media side of things.

“Besides the bishops, there were also Curia officials including the head of the Curia’s response team investigating abuse and Mgr Charles Scicluna, then the Vatican’s prosecutor.

“No one was interested in spin but in formulating a strategy that would respect those who had been abused and, quite rightly, were demanding justice, without creating distractions. The meeting was a fruitful one and led to a meeting between Pope Benedict and those who were abused,” he recalls.

On a lighter note, artistic director Carlo Schembri was responsible for designing and coordinating the backdrops to that papal visit, a role he also has this time around.

Back then, the chairs that the pope and 700 members of the clergy participating in the celebration at the granaries were going to sit on were made of durable recycled cardboard.

“I remember I was speaking to Mgr Charles Scicluna and I told him I was concerned about the rain since the chairs were made of cardboard. He told me: ‘The pope said it will not rain.’ I believed him.”

No one was interested in spin but in formulating a strategy that would respect those who had been abused and, quite rightly, were demanding justice, without creating distractions- Fr Joe Borg

Based on this ‘divine prediction’, he ordered the chairs to be put in place the night before the Mass.

“But, in the morning, at 5am, there was a heavy downpour. We scrambled to cover the chairs in plastic,” he says, adding that,  thankfully, they were saved.

Later on, Mgr Scicluna, who was walking with the pope, turned to him and whispered: “He said it would not rain during the Mass.” In fact, the sun came out during the celebration.

Schembri worked on the throne that Benedict would sit on at the airport and selected the paint and the fabric with Paul Camilleri,  from Camilleri Paris Mode.

They later realised that the paint they had picked was called “Habemus papam” (we have a pope) while the fabric was labelled “Rosso papale” (papal red).

Coincidence or divine intervention?