The feast of St Paul Shipwreck was marked yesterday by a Pontifical Mass celebrated by Apostolic Administrator Charles Scicluna, who delivered a panegyric woven from excerpts from the Bible and verses written by the national poet Dun Karm Psaila.

The panegyric offered a stark contrast to that delivered last year by Canon Lawrence Zammit, who spoke out against civil unions and urged authorities to remember they were first and foremost Catholics.

Yesterday’s Mass was attended by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil, Acting President Dolores Cristina and a host of other dignitaries.

In his poetically resonant address, Mgr Scicluna quoted from the Book of Romans, which urged Christians to love sincerely, to abhor what is evil and to hold fast to what is good.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need and welcome foreigners into your homes. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay evil with evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”

Mgr Scicluna said he could envision St Paul in the holy grotto in Rabat telling our Maltese forefathers that they were once darkness, but were now light in the Lord. “Live as children of light, for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth.”

Fine weather saw hundreds in Valletta enjoying the morning celebrations. Valletta enthusiasts followed the band marches and, later, in a more sombre environment, the procession with the statue of the patron saint. Tourists and locals wandered into St Paul’s collegiate church to marvel at the prestigious collection of silver, gold, chandeliers and sacred objects.