Another shot from Gozo - this time from Gharb (pron. 'arb').
Ta’ Pinu’ has a special place in the hearts of the Maltese people. It is the shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Ta’ Pinu (Pinu is the Maltese diminutive of Philip – hence the name Our Lady of Pinu). There was a chapel here even before 1575 when it was first recorded as belonging to ‘The Gentile’ family. Ta’ Pinu came to fame when on the 22nd June 1883, Karmela ( or Karmni) Grima a forty-five year-old spinster and great devotee of the Blessed Virgin, heard a call, while passing by the chapel on her return home from the fields which surrounded the chapel. "Come, come", she heard a woman's voice say. She was confused and frightened, and began to run away from the place. The voice called again, and this time Karmela realised that the voice was coming from within the chapel, she went inside and said her usual prayers. The voice which had come from the image of the Blessed Virgin asked her to recite three Ave Maria in honour of the three days Her body remained in the tomb before Assumption to Heaven.
After a long time confined to bed , Karmela revealed her secret to a friend, Francesco Portelli, who in turn told her that about the same time he also heard a woman's voice asking him to pray from within the chapel. Shortly after this mysterious call Francesco's mother was miraculously healed by the intercession of Our Lady of Ta` Pinu. The lonely chapel became a place of pilgrimage for many people on the island and beyond and has remained a place of devotion ever since.
With many pilgrims flocking to the chapel, it was decided to build a worthy sanctuary to accommodate the crowds. The new church was opened to the public in 1935 and immediately raised to the dignity of Minor Basilica by Pope Pius XI.
Many thanks for looking and for your comments on yesterday's picture
