Where’s that: In the village of Għarb on the island of Gozo, Malta
Our Lady’s connection: Mysterious voice and miraculous healings
In 1575 a representative of the pope turned up on Gozo island, which is part of Malta, and ordered the demolition of several run-down churches. One of these was the chapel of the Gentile, named after a local family. But as a worker was about to deliver the first blow in the demolition, he broke his arm. That was seen as a sign that the chapel must be retained.
Two decades later, the retained church was renamed Ta’ Pinu (which means “of Philip”). It was rebuilt in the 1610s, with a painting of the Assumption of Our Lady commissioned for the main altar.
Fast forward to 1883, when a peasant woman named Karmni Grima (1838-1922) heard a female voice coming from the Ta’ Pinu chapel, calling her to enter. Once inside, she was asked to say three Hail Marys.
For two years Grima kept this encounter secret. When she told her friend Francesco Portelli about it, he confirmed that at around the same time, he too had heard the mysterious female voice, coming from the painting of the Assumption. Francesco had also kept the encounter secret.
Shortly after that conversation, Francesco’s mother was miraculously healed after praying for the intercession of the “Madonna Ta’ Pinu”. The local bishop was informed about these events and after due investigation he concluded that the voice was of heavenly origins. Pilgrimages to the chapel began very soon after.
The old church was demolished in 1922 to make way for a larger church, which was consecrated in 1932. Pope John Paul II visited the basilica of Ta’Pinu in 1990, Benedict XVI in 2010.
Published in the June 2026 issue of The Southern Cross Magazine
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