The State broadcaster as well as the Department of Information were conspicuously absent for George Abela’s recent visit to the Holy See, which was also the last official visit of his presidency.

Footage of Dr Abela’s visit, which included a private audience with Pope Francis, only emerged a week later, during last Friday’s edition of Xarabank on PBS. Apart from Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella, the delegation also included the extended family of President Abela. Though all the media including this newspaper had received an invitation to cover the event, this was declined, as contrary to the norm the President’s Office did not cover the cost of the flights.

A spokeswoman for the Office of the President confirmed that Where’s Everybody? was the only media house that accepted the invitation. She also insisted that the usual travel arrangements did not apply this time round.

“Please note that it is a standard procedure that interested media covering an official visit (not a State visit) will cover their travelling expenses,” she said.

However the spokeswoman did not answer questions related to the absence of a DOI photographer, which meant that the local media had to rely on foreign news agencies to get a glimpse of Dr Abela’s audience with the Pope.

A DOI spokesman said the President’s Office had not filed a request for an official government photographer to accompany Dr Abela and they could not provide the local media with a picture of this visit.