Ta' Pinu, the basilica in the fields that two popes came to see

Ta’ Pinu makes an impression before you’ve even gone in. It’s a vast basilica of pale stone with its bell tower, planted on its own in the fields of western Gozo with no village around it. The Ministry for Gozo calls it Malta’s most important shrine, and seeing how Gozitans look after it, I can well believe that.

From a country chapel to a national shrine

Its origins are hazy. The first record comes from Bishop Domenico Cubelles, who noted that the chapel had been rebuilt and belonged to the noble Gentile family. When the apostolic visitor Pietro Duzina came in 1575, he ordered it pulled down because it was falling apart, but tradition holds that a workman was injured as demolition began, which was taken as a sign to spare it.

In 1858 the chapel was renamed Ta’ Pinu after Pinu Gauci, who paid for its restoration. Fame arrived in 1883, when Karmela Grima, Karmni to those who knew her, a countrywoman from Għarb, said she had heard the Virgin’s voice there. Pilgrims began to pour in, and Bishop Pietru Pace confirmed the heavenly origin of the events.

The basilica of 1920 to 1932

With so many visitors the chapel soon proved too small. Between 1920 and 1932 the large Romanesque church you see today was built, and in 1935 Pope Pius XI made it a minor basilica. The old chapel survives within the complex, and the Ministry draws attention to the mosaics on the forecourt and the motifs carved into the stone.

Two popes have been. John Paul II came in 1990, prayed in the chapel and said Mass on the forecourt. Francis came in 2022, left a golden rose, like the one Benedict XVI had sent in 2010, and led a prayer meeting with around 3,000 representatives of the local Church.

What is there to see at Ta’ Pinu?

Besides the basilica, there are two things I wouldn’t miss. The first is Ta’ Għammar hill, directly opposite. A steep path climbs past 14 statues in white Carrara marble depicting the Stations of the Cross, from the Last Supper to the burial of Jesus, carved in Italy by Alfred Camilleri Cauchi and put in place in the early 1980s. From the top you get one of the finest views on Gozo.

The second is Karmni Grima’s house in Għarb, now a museum. The Ministry says it has reopened after restoration, is fully accessible and has an audio-visual presentation on her life plus an audio guide in six languages, English included. There’s no published opening time or price, but there is a phone number, +356 21556045, which I’d ring before going.

Opening hours, and visiting with respect

Here’s the crucial bit. The shrine’s opening hours don’t appear in any official page I’ve managed to check, and the website some places mention doesn’t load. So I won’t give you times. What I will say is that this is a working church and a genuine place of pilgrimage, so I’d go outside services, dress modestly, with shoulders and knees covered, and take my time.

The shrine is on the outskirts of Għarb, a few minutes’ drive from Victoria. By bus, routes 311 and 312 run from Victoria bus terminal towards Għarb.

Close by, Għasri and Ta’ Ġurdan lighthouse

Between Għammar hill and Żebbuġ hill lies Għasri, the least populated village on Gozo. The Ministry for Gozo maps out a bike route that starts in Victoria, calls at Ta’ Pinu and continues towards that village, always facing Ta’ Ġurdan lighthouse. Along the road, a string of niches decorated with religious mosaics tells you the shrine is close. If you’re driving, I’d follow the same route and then drop down to Wied il-Għasri for a swim.

Fitting it into a day in the west

Ta’ Pinu slots neatly into a day in western Gozo. I’d do Dwejra in the morning, Ta’ Pinu and the Stations of the Cross around midday, and the Wied il-Mielaħ rock window, also in Għarb, in the afternoon. And one nice detail for the trip home. On your crossing back, look at the ship’s name, because one of the Gozo Channel ferries is called Ta’ Pinu. For the rest of the island, my full ranking is in things to do in Gozo.