The historic pilgrimage of the statues of St Paul and St Publius yesterday may have been a unifying moment for some but it was a bittersweet event for fanatical supporters of Valletta football club.
A number of feast enthusiasts from the city told The Times they found the presence of Floriana's statue of St Publius in their city offensive and the idea should never have been suggested.
The joint pilgrimage was organised by the Church to symbolise the story of when St Paul was welcomed into Malta by St Publius, whom he converted. It was held to mark the end of the international year dedicated to St Paul, together with a series of activities that reached their culmination with Pontifical Mass at St John's Co-Cathedral celebrated by the Pope's special envoy, Cardinal Ennio Antonelli.
According to supporters from both sides, when the event was announced there was pressure to stop it from going ahead, even though the rivalry between the two towns is usually over football, not feasts.
"This is a feast dedicated to the birth of St Paul, it is a celebration of the man, not of his journey in Malta, so what does St Publius have to do with it?" asked one Valletta supporter.
Another said he was boycotting the event and had taken the Church's decision so much to heart that he was adamant not to hear Mass in his parish until his hurt subsided.
One enthusiast from Floriana was worried that, although the rivalry was traditionally related to football, it was so strong it sometimes extended to religious festivities.
Speaking ahead of the momentous occasion, he said: "When we were told about it many of us feared something would happen to our beautiful statue and this was an unnecessary risk. Others said there was now enough maturity for such an event. We'll just have to wait and see."
In the end the encounter passed without incident.
Another enthusiast, who accompanied the statue of St Publius to City Gate yesterday, said most of the people of Floriana had gleefully looked forward to taking over their rival's feast: "Valletta never looked so dignified. This is a better project for the city than Renzo Piano's".
A number of young Valletta supporters who were preparing for the feast yesterday morning said the only reason they were helping out was because this was an important event for supporters of St Paul.
"Our feast is always held in February so we're at the mercy of the weather. For once we are getting a chance to celebrate in summer and pull out all the stops. But for some reason we have to share our feast with St Publius," one of them explained.
Another admitted that the St Publius statue was one of the most beautiful in Malta but this did not affect his negative view on the event.
"From a religious point of view it is a nice thing. But as someone from Valletta I don't like it."
Despite such reactions, many other feast enthusiasts were happy about the joint celebration, describing it as a "golden opportunity" for both sides to reconcile their sporting differences in the name of religion.
According to the parish priests, the rivalry between the two towns did not extend beyond football except for the extremely hot-headed supporters.
A spokesman for the Church dismissed talk of any rift between the Floriana and Valletta parishes, adding that both archpriests had been very cooperative when the programme was being drawn up.
The Church had said the events would be a chance for the Maltese Catholic community to feel "happy to be Christian".