Family and Social Solidarity Minister Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca is “not fond of ceremonies”. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

The swearing-in of the next President promises to be the most unceremonious ever, with the inauguration Mass being said in a makeshift tent in Siġġiewi rather than in Valletta’s majestic St John’s Co-Cathedral.

Family and Social Solidarity Minister Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, who, by her own admission, “is not fond of ceremonies”, will be taking her oath of office as the ninth President on Friday.

Details of the six-hour-long ceremony were announced yesterday at a news conference held in the parking area of Id-Dar tal-Providenza where preparations were in full swing to erect a tent big enough for 1,000 people.

A spokeswoman for the minister, who was not present, said Ms Coleiro Preca wanted to use the occasion “to promote the visibility of the most vulnerable in society”.

The location also offered the possibility to involve more people, she added.

A children’s choir and a number of residents of Id-Dar tal-Providenza will be participating in the inauguration Mass.

Ms Coleiro Preca will be the first president from the government ranks to receive unanimous backing in Parliament.

The deputy chief of staff at the Office of the Prime Minister, Mark Farrugia, said the new president would be flanked by the Prime Minister and the leader of the Opposition when saluting the crowd from the balcony of the Palace in Valletta immediately after being sworn in.

Another “first” will be the presentation of a national flag by representatives of political parties during the inauguration Mass. Ms Coleiro Preca is leaving no stone unturned to promote her social agenda and has even appointed Luqa parish priest, Fr Gordon Refalo, as her spiritual director.

Fr Refalo said the first and second readings and also the gospel during the inauguration Mass would be inspired by social values.

Since, due to protocol, the ecclesiastical authorities do not allow collections on official occasions such as this, Ms Coleiro Preca expressed her wish that people attending Mass will be invited to make a donation to Id-Dar tal-Providenza as they enter the tent.

The ceremony starts at 2pm when the minister, who has been in politics since the days of former prime minister Dom Mintoff, will bid farewell to her constituents in Luqa. She will then proceed to Siġġiewi for the inauguration Mass and then visit her home town, Qormi.

Proceedings will then shift to the capital where the designate president, accompanied by a number of children, walks down Republic Street to St George’s Square and then enter the Presidential Palace for the formal swearing-in.

A number of people representing “the most vulnerable” will follow proceedings on a big screen at the Palace courtyard.

They will be among the first to greet the newly appointed president.

In playing the national anthem, the Armed Forces of Malta band will be accompanied by a number of established singers and those present would be invited to “join in as a sign of unity”.

Finally a wreath-laying ceremony will be held at the War Memorial, in Floriana, followed by official talks with the Prime Minister and Opposition leader at San Anton Palace.

More activities will be held in Gozo the following day, between 11am and 7pm which will include the inauguration of Dar Emmaus, which hosts victims of domestic violence.