Pope Benedict XVI's visit next month will cost the Church and the State a combined €750,000, according to initial estimates.
The pastoral secretary, Mgr Charles Cordina, yesterday said the Church would be spending around €500,000 on the visit of April 17-18, mostly since it had to build stages from scratch for the occasion.
Charles Bonello, who is coordinating operations on behalf of the State, said the visit would cost the government around €250,000, although he added that the figure had not yet been finalised as small things kept cropping up.
"Whenever a head of state visits we have to spend at least €40,000 on logistics.
"You can't compare a State visit with another, since you have to build the logistics depending on public interest," Mr Bonello said.
"Malta's reputation is priceless, and we cannot risk having a foreign journalist pick up on some mishap. If you compared this to other countries, you'll see we are really not spending that much."
He compared the expense to the Pope's four-day visit to the UK in September, which is slated to cost around £20 million (roughly €22 million).
Once the Pope leaves Malta, the Church might recoup some of its outlay since it plans to resell the materials used for the stages, built out of reusable and recyclable materials.
When he says Mass at the Granaries in Floriana, on April 18, the Pontiff might not have to wear a crown of thorns; however, he will be sitting on a cardboard throne as the designers strove to keep costs and environmental impact to a minimum.
The stage where Mass will be celebrated is being built in the middle of the Granaries, facing the Mall Gardens in Floriana.
Designer Carlo Schembri said the stage location was a natural one, "since the gradient of the granaries gave us the solution where the stage had to be. It's also a good thing that St Publius Church will be just at the side, since it's being used as a sacristy for the occasion."
A canopy will shelter the Pope from the mid-morning sun.
A large Cross will take centre stage, with the Pope sitting on its left hand side, while President George Abela will be sitting at the end of a path leading straight down from the Cross.
Architect Joe Bondin explained the symbolism: "The Cross is at the centre, representing Jesus, the Pope to the side, is His representative on earth, and this is all leading to bringing Christ to the Maltese, represented by the President".
The drive towards more inclusivity and participation is not limited to the stage. Readings during the Mass will be in Maltese, and the hymns, sung by the 260-strong choir, will be popular ones heard in churches across Malta.
For the Pope to be able to participate as well, the rest of the Mass will be said in English, with responses in English available on a booklet for the congregation.
The only variations to the Mass, to be transmitted live on the Italian television station Rai and threescore Catholic stations worldwide, will be that the Pope will recite the Regina Coelis at noon, and after Mass he will present Gozo Bishop Mario Grech with the Rosa d'Oro for the Ta' Pinu Sanctuary in Għarb.
The latter is a golden rose which used to be presented to Catholic queens in the past but is now being presented to Marian sanctuaries with a very strong following.
Mass will start at 10 a.m., with the Pope expected to arrive on the site at 9.30 a.m. in the Popemobile.
There will be 5,000 seats on the Granaries, with 4,000 available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis; 50,000 faithful are expected to turn up.
Wheelchair users and elderly people over 75 will also be catered for with designated areas and transport from their homes, while hearing impaired people will have sign language interpreters on site.
To allow all clergy to participate in Mass, the last Masses celebrated on the Sunday morning will be at 8 a.m.