The Mellieħa council believes the Pope should be driven through the village, even though the 83-year-old Pontiff is visiting 40 Maltese parishes in just 26 hours.

The council has filed an official protest to the committee overseeing the Pope's visit, saying it fails to understand why he cannot make a short detour to the north.

"The Mellieħa sanctuary and St Paul's Islands are synonymous with our Christianity. It is only natural that the Pope should visit them," Mellieħa mayor Robert Cutajar told The Sunday Times.

The Pope is visiting Malta in connection with the celebrations marking 1,950 years since St Paul landed in Malta.

He said the council was reflecting residents' anger that Pope Benedict XVI was not following in the footsteps of his predecessor, who had stopped to bless the Mellieħa sanctuary during his visit in 1990.

The Pope will visit Malta on April 17 and 18 - being driven through several streets before celebrating Mass on the Floriana granaries.

But it appears some localities want to take an even closer look at the head of the Roman Catholic Church.

"In the name of the Mellieħa community, I would like to show my disapproval as mayor, that my locality has not been included (in the routes)," Mr Cutajar wrote to the chairmen of both the Church and government organising committees.

Mellieħa has close ties with the Christian faith, as highlighted especially by St Paul's Islands (which fall under the council's jurisdiction) and the Mellieħa sanctuary, the mayor wrote.

Mr Cutajar told the committee that the Mellieħa sanctuary was one of just 20 in the world dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes. St Luke is also known to have accompanied St Paul to Malta and was responsible for painting the image of Our Lady at the sanctuary. "The Pope travels around the world so much - is it possible that he cannot travel an extra 15 minutes by car via St Paul's Bay and Mellieħa?" the mayor said.

Mr Cutajar even suggested the Pope be taken on a boat for a quick tour to the Gozo harbour, passing by St Paul's Islands, without disembarking.

He urged the organisation committee to revise the programme, maybe even with the intervention of the Vatican. Charles Bonello, chairman of the National Organisation Committee who is also Mr Cutajar's colleague at the Office of the Prime Minister, replied, saying it was impossible to include Mellieħa on the route since it was distant in relation to the programme prepared for the Pontiff.

Mgr Charles Cordina, chairman of the Curia committee, said he was sorry he could not satisfy everybody's requests because of time constraints, which also prohibited the Pope from visiting other significant venues - like the Gozo diocese, San Ġorġ Preca's museum Society and St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta.

The Popemobile will be driven slowly to allow the people to see the Pope, who will be greeted with bands in some localities. Where possible, the vehicle will be driven near old people's homes, monasteries and town centres.

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