Centuries of the faithful have loved this little chapel . and a superb painting by an unknown artist in the same town shows that Our Lady is loved here with unique fervor.
On Easter Sunday James Debono catches up with theologian Fr Rene Camilleri and Fr Jimmy Bonnici, rector of the Archbishop’s Seminary, to explore two issues openly discussed in the global church - priestly celibacy and the ordination of women
A study carried out by marine geologist Dr Aaron Micallef (‘Malta’s submerged landscape’, Times of Malta, January 4, 2013), found that the archipelago was two-and-a-half times larger and the sea level 130 metres lower during the last Ice Age. The subsequent rise in sea levels created bays and harbours, mainly in a south-southeast to northeast direction, including Grand Harbour, the Marsa l-Kbira (Mers el Kebir) and its innermost creek, Ix-Xatt tal-Marsa, the stretch of water beyond an imaginary line drawn between Ras Ħanżir and the spur below the Capuchin convent at Floriana. Ancient toponyms offer windows on history, being mainly derived from Arabic, in this instance, for ‘harbour’ or ‘anchorage’, and is thus found elsewhere in the archipelago, namely Marsalforn, Marsa ta’ Ħal Saflieni, Marsamxett, Marsascala, Marsa Xini, Marsa Xlendi, Marsaxlokk, (Wettinger, 2000).
The Ta’ Pinu Basilica is located is the village of Gharb in the North Western Part of the island. It is particularly known for its annexed museum recording hundreds of stories of alleged miracles, making the church a famous site for pilgrimages. The origins of the Shrine of Our Lady of ta’ Pinu are unknown. It was first recorded in the archives of the Curia in Gozo, when the Bishop Domenico Cubelles paid a visit to the chapel. This noted that the chapel had just been rebuilt and that it belonged to the noble family of “The Gentile”.
In 1575 the apostolic visitor Pietro Dusina was delegated by Pope Gregory XIII to visit the Maltese Islands. In his pastoral visit to the church, he found that it was in a very bad state. He ordered the church to be closed and demolished and its duties passed to the parish church. When demolition began the workman broke his arm while striking the first blow. This was taken as an omen that the chapel should not be demolished. The church was the