Took this pic in 3 parts and stiched them together. This is the church dedicated to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Sliema dressed up in red damask and with crystal chandeliers for the titular festa (feast) which comes every year on the first Sunday of July. Each parish in Malta celebrates a similar festa with great enthusiasm with street decorations, band marches along the streets of the neighbourhood and letting off of petards and fireworks. Neighbouring parishes compete to be better than their neighbour. The climax of the festivity comes with a procession with the statue of the saint around the main roads of the parish. The pity is that the religious functions are gradually losing to the more secular ones with youngsters often getting drunk whilst following the bands.
