Our Lady of Millieț a

Marian vocation of Melieħa (Malta)

La the vocation of Our Lady of Millieț a is linked to a sanctuary excavated in a natural cave of Millieħa, in the northwest of Malta, considered the oldest Marian shrine in the Maltese archipelago. Its history is surrounded by a strong devotional tradition and an appreciable antiquity, although several of its most famous statements belong to the tradition more than that of verifiable documentation.

Main data

Origin and history

La the vocation of Our Lady of Millieț a is linked to a sanctuary excavated in a natural cave of Millieħa, in the northwest of Malta, considered the oldest Marian shrine in the Maltese archipelago. Its history is surrounded by a strong devotional tradition and an appreciable antiquity, although several of its most famous statements belong to the tradition more than that of verifiable documentation.

According to the local traditionthe Marian image would have been painted directly on the rock and would be attributed to san Lucas; some versions even add a relationship to San Pablobut this attribution is not recorded as a documented historical fact in the sources consulted. What does appear clearly is that the place was for centuries a point of pilgrimage and that the present sanctuary was adapted and embellished over time, preserving the original rock core.

In recent documented history, the Catholic Church of Malta officially recognized the place as National Sanctuary of Our Lady of Millieț a en 2015according to the information disseminated by the pastoral and tourist ecclesial environment. This designation confirms its relief within Maltese Marian life, although it does not replace the antiquity of the cult, which is presented as much earlier.

The image and the sanctuary

The venerated image is a fresh / image painted on the rockof Byzantine or medieval tradition according to the divulgative descriptions, representing the Virgin with the Child. The exact iconography is not always described in detail in the sources consulted, but the essential element is its character. rock image preserved in the temple.

The temple is officially known as Sanctuary of Our Lady of Millieț a (Santwarju tal-Madonna tal-Mellieħa). It is integrated into a natural cave and adapted as an iglesia- sanctuary, which gives a unique configuration between the Marian places of Malta. In the sources consulted it is recorded as National SanctuaryIt does not, however, have the title of a minor basilica.

Sponsorship and coronation

Our Lady of Millieț a enjoys a patronage closely linked to the town of Millieħa and to their religious life; the sources consulted also highlight their importance for the whole Malta as one of his great Marian shrines. The revised sources do not contain a specific diocesan patronage formulated with precision.

No consta una documented canonical coronation in the sources consulted.

Party and devotion

La main party se celebra el September 8the date of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, and the fountains present it as the great festive moment of the sanctuary and the people of Millieħa. During this celebration, the place becomes a focus of intense local participation and pilgrimage.

The devotion is characterized by the continued pilgrimage, the visit to the rock sanctuary and the veneration of an image of the most ancient. The news and tourist sources describe the sanctuary as one of the oldest and most venerated Marian places in Malta, with a stable influx of faithful and visitors. In the malt environment of the Assumption and Marian parties, Millieħa occupies a particularly prominent place.

Link to the Rosary

The sources consulted do not document a specific and exclusive link of this advocation with a particular fellowship, practice or indulgence of the Rosary. However, by its nature as a Marian sanctuary and place of pilgrimage, Our Lady of Millieț a is naturally integrated into the spirituality of the Rosary, which contemplates precisely the mysteries of Christ with the look of Mary.

In a devotional fact, it can be said with rigour that the Rosary accompanies this advocation as it does with so many ancient Marian shrines: it helps to read the history of Melieț a not only as a local memory, but as a call to contemplate Christ with the faith of the Church and under the protection of the Mother of God.