Malta is a place where people have, traditionally, had faith in God and have believed in miracles. There are plenty of stories related to miraculous happenings where the faithful were saved from ill-fate. Here are some of them!

The Mosta dome

The magnificent Mosta Rotunda is famous for being the third largest unsupported dome in the world. It is particular because the new church was built in 1833, around the old church, which had existed since 1614 and remained in use throughout the course of construction. Now, the miracle associated with this place requires little in terms of faith because the evidence is undeniable: a World War II bomb tore through the roof as a congregation celebrated mass within. An air-raid had sounded but many had remained inside the church to pray. The bomb did not explode and the people inside were spared.

Why bomb a church anyway? The act was probably intended to deflate the mood of the Maltese population but the survival of the prestigious dome, and the congregation inside, offered hope instead. Today, a replica of the bomb is kept at the church museum.

Wied Speranza

Wied Speranza - taken from the Maltese word for 'hope' - was born of a legend that is widely known. It is related to the miraculous fate of a young girl who was in danger when invading Turks came upon her and her sisters while they were tending their family’s sheep.

The youngest girl was limp and could not run away as fast as her sisters could, so she hid in a nearby cave and prayed. Just then, a spider appeared and wove a thick web over the entrance of the cave, making it look like nobody had come that way in a long time. The Turks didn’t think to look inside the cave and the girl was saved from abduction - and perhaps worse. Nothing today can offer evidence of this miraculous tale but this legend has survived the test of time and, today, there is a chapel supposedly built on the spot.

Statues of the Virgin crying tears of blood

Miracle stories relating to statuettes of the Virgin weeping tears of blood abound in Malta. From time to time, one statue or another appears to weep tears of human blood. Let us be clear, this phenomenon is common in other places too, such as Italy, Ireland and Australia. In Malta, the episodes seem to centre around Rabat and Birzebbugia.

The marble statue of the Virgin Mary at St Dominic’s Convent, known as il-Madonna tal-Ghar, first wept tears in 1999 and was observed again on two other occasions. Years of tests and debates seem to conclude little more than that believers should increase their devotion. They can pray in the church of Our Lady of the Grotto, observing the statue that is protected by glass and wrought iron lattice.

Ta’ Pinu Church in Gozo

Known as the Church of Miracles, Ta’ Pinu Shrine in Gozo owes its very existence to a miracle. In 1883, Karmni Grima and her friend, Francesco Portelli, on separate occasions, heard the voice of the Virgin asking them to pray at the site. Then Francesco’s mother recovered from severe illness - that was the first miracle.

Today, the walls of Ta`Pinu Church are covered in tokens of gratitude left by people who were cured by prayer. Baby clothes, artificial limbs, hearing aids and letters of thanks bear testimony to the miracle of prayer. Some even claim that carrying an emblem of Madonna ta’ Pinu was sufficient to spare them from a potentially fatal accident. Interestingly, even the Ta’ Pinu shrine in Melbourne, established by director of the Ta’ Pinu shrine in Għarb, Mgr Benedict Camilleri, has been said to be a source of miracles.

Do you believe in miracles?