Puerta de la Misericordia

The Shrine of the Blessed Mother of Ta' Pinu is built on a 15th century chapel dedicated to the Assumption. The 17th century altarpiece is at the centre of the story of Ta' Pinu.

On Friday 22 June 1883, Karmni Grima, a local peasant, was returning home from the fields. She usually paid a visit to the chapel, but as she was late that day, she decided to proceed on her way. All of sudden, she heard a voice coming from the vicinity of the chapel: “Come! Come! Come!”. On entering the chapel, the voice from the altarpiece addressed her again: "Recite three Hail Marys in honour of the three days my body lay in the tomb". Franġisk Portelli, a contemporary of Grima, also claimed that at the same time he had been recommended by the same voice to venerate the secret wound of Christ's shoulder sustained under the burden of the cross.

By 1886, crowds flooded the Ta’ Pinu Shrine claiming cures and other heavenly favours. The little chapel became a centre of devotion and pilgrimages, and today's magnificent Basilica was built between 1920 and 1931 in local limestone.

Pope John Paul II visited the Shrine in 1990 and Benedict XVI in 2010 presented a Golden Rose to the Blessed Mother of Ta’ Pinu hailing her as "Queen of the Family".