All roads lead to Rome for Pope's funeral

Malta is expected to grind to a halt this morning with televisions tuned in to the Vatican as Pope John Paul II is laid to rest in Rome.

Several companies are allowing their staff to watch the funeral and many are to hold a minute's silence as millions around the world bid farewell to one of the longest-standing Popes.

Bank staff have been instructed to hold a one-minute silence at 10.30 as a mark of respect.

Church school students have been given the day off as a sign of respect while children in state and independent schools will take a break from schoolwork to attend special activities for the occasion.

Several parish churches and communities will also be holding special functions. Each Mass celebrated today in Malta will be in memory of the Pope.

President Eddie Fenech Adami, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Archbishop Joseph Mercieca and Opposition Leader Alfred Sant will be among those attending this morning's funeral at the Vatican.

Hundreds of Maltese saw their dreams of paying their last respects to the deceased Pope fade away after the Italian authorities ordered the cancellation of several flights because of the massive number of people pouring into Rome.

The streets around St Peter's Basilica swelled with an estimated one million pilgrims on Wednesday, nearly double the barely manageable number of the day before. The surge was so great that late on Wednesday night Italian officials closed down the line of those waiting to view the body of Pope John Paul II.

Mondial Holidays was forced to cancel a planned chartered flight for the funeral leaving early this morning and returning late tonight. Scores of people had booked their trip within minutes of a radio advert.

Air Malta informed the travel agency that the flight could not land in Fiumicino airport and requested it to land in Pescara or Naples instead. The pilgrims would not have made it to the funeral on time.

Likewise, Britannia Services were planning to charter a flight to Rome leaving early yesterday morning but were forced to shelve it just 12 hours before departure.

"By 10 p.m. on Wednesday, we were informed that the queues at the Vatican were getting out of hand. I felt it would have been irresponsible to send people there," Britannia managing director Noel Farrugia said.

Joanna Formosa, one of those that had planned to join the trip, was reeling in disappointment yesterday.

When she was four years old, Ms Formosa had actually paid her last respects to Pope Wojtyla's predecessor Pope John Paul I because she happened to be in Rome.

She also personally met the Pontiff during a private audience in Malta in 1990. "I recall I was trembling and crying when I got close to him. He turned to me, held my hand and asked me 'Why are you crying? I'm only the Pope'".

Ms Formosa was undeterred by the fact that the faithful in Rome were forced to queue for up to 14 hours to see the body of the Pope.

"When he came to Malta in 2001, the Pope was already very ill and he still went ahead with his voyages. So why should 14 hours on my feet be such a big deal?" she asked.

Ms Formosa admitted she would feel very emotional when she pays her last respects to the Pope from her living room this morning.

"This man changed the world for the better. He was the ultimate in goodness. I mean, who would forgive the gunman that tried to kill him? Pope John Paul II is a saint."

The Gozo Diocese will be holding a pontifical celebration at the Gozo Cathedral tomorrow at 6 p.m., led by Bishop Nikol Cauchi, with the participation of Chorus Ecclesiae Cathedralis. Pope John Paul II had visited the cathedral in his first visit in 1990.

A Mass on the occasion of the passing on of the Holy Father will also be celebrated by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), together with their friends, collaborators and co-workers on Monday at St Aloysius College, Birkirkara, at 6.30 p.m.