The funeral mass for the late MP Karl Chircop will be held at 10am today at the parish church of Christ the King in Paola.

The coffin with the body will leave the mortuary at Mater Dei Hospital at 9am, reaching the Labour Party headquarters at 9.15am when opposition and party leader Joseph Muscat, the parliamentary group and the party national executive will observe a minute’s silence.

The coffin will then be taken to Kordin hill in Paola, from where there will be a funeral procession at 9.30am to Christ the King parish church. Mgr Victor Grech will concelebrate with the parish priests of Sta Lucija, Gudja, Ghaxaq, Tarxien, Marsa and Paola, which form the fourth electoral district that elected Dr Chircop. Funeral arrangements are in the hands of the Labour Party in full coordination with the Chircop family.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives Louis Galea together with Deputy Speaker Carmelo Abela, the Parliamentary Whips David Agius and Joe Mizzi as well as the acting clerk of the House were among those who signed the book of condolences at the MLP headquarters yesterday.

Dr Chircop passed away on Sunday at London’s National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, after falling into a coma following a cerebral haemorrhage in August, just days before his 43rd birthday.

Workshops due to be held as part of the Nationalist Party general council, scheduled for this morning, have been cancelled.