It was a normal Saturday night in Paceville - teenagers working on the next day's hangover as loud music blared from clubs.
Normal, that is, until Archbishop Paul Cremona, flanked by journalists, photographers and Curia staff, hit the streets and bars to speak to the young people.
"I'm 64 - I should be in bed by now," Mgr Cremona joked with some of the youngsters.
The tour through Paceville, lasting about an hour, might easily be considered a press stunt. However, the Archbishop demonstrated a remarkable interest in those he met.
Coming back from a visit inside a bottle shop, he was telling one of the young journalists accompanying him the story of the person he had just met, who came from Gozo, studied at Mcast and had a place in Malta...
In one establishment, the football match between Fiorentina and Inter was showing on screens at the time of his visit and Mgr Cremona teasingly promised his prayers to any Juventus supporters.
"I don't support any particular club. I just like to follow the game, and I find that supporting a club spoils it somewhat," he said.
The appearance of the sexagenarian bishop in the entertainment hotspot surprised many, who felt slightly taken aback by his visit. This was a low-key event compared to a similar visit in 2007 when he was Archbishop-elect.
While youths were hardly flocking to Malta's pastoral leader, various older people (it was around 10.30 p.m.) went up to Mgr Cremona to give their regards.
Foreigners in the places Mgr Cremona visited were intrigued. At Plush, a young man asked "Who is he?", and a Tunisian bouncer outside Club Sabor wanted to take a photo with him - even though he's Muslim. The Archbishop found no problem conversing with burly biker-type men outside rock bar Coconut Grove and managers and club owners were very keen to greet Mgr Cremona - and get their picture taken.
As he walked past bottle shops and gentlemen's clubs, Mgr Cremona was not left alone by his flock. Rebekah Busuttil and Stefan Desira, in their mid-20s, do not usually go to Paceville, "but we came to support the Archbishop" along with a group of friends, they said.