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Karmni Grima (2 February 1838 – 25 May 1922) was a Maltese peasant whose mystical religious experience led to the constructions and services as an apostle of Our Lady of Ta' Pinu.
Within a short time the news spread throughout
Karmni Grima Museum on facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grima, Karmni Marian apparitions Maltese Roman Catholics Servants of God Roman Catholic mystics 20th-century venerated Christians 1922 deaths 1838 births People from Għarb
Biography
Karmni Grima was born in the village ofGħarb
Għarb ( mt, L-Għarb) is an administrative unit of Malta, located at the westernmost point of the island of Gozo, with a population of 1,539 people (as of March 2014).
History
Għarb started as a small hamlet which developed around the middle ...
in Gozo
Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After t ...
, the sister island of Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. Her parents, Thomas and Antonia (née Apap), were poor labourers who worked in the fields located on the nearby hills of Ghammar.
Every day, after hearing Mass (liturgy)
Mass is the main Eucharistic liturgical service in many forms of Western Christianity. The term ''Mass'' is commonly used in the Catholic Church, in the Western Rite Orthodox, in Old Catholic, and in Independent Catholic churches. The term is ...
in a small chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
, Karmni would go to work in the fields.
On the 22 June 1883 while, as usual, she was passing in front of the small chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
, she heard a mysterious voice calling her: "Come, ... come today. For a whole year, you will not be able to return". This event is considered as "the most notable occurrence in the history of the Diocese" of Gozo
Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After t ...
.
Karmni Grima, although terrified, obeyed and entered into the chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
. From a painting of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
located in the chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
, Karmni heard a voice saying: "Recite three Hail Mary
The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...
s in honour of the three days that I stayed within the tomb."
Karmni Grima got sick, and could only return to the chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
after a year.
Karmni shared this experience with her confessor
Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways.
Confessor of the Faith
Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
.
Bishop Pietru Pace was informed about these events and after speaking to Karmni and Francesco he concluded that the voice was of heavenly origins.
Within a short time the news spread throughout Gozo
Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After t ...
and Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
and the small and abandoned chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
soon became a Marian shrine
A shrine to the Virgin Mary (or Marian shrine) is a shrine marking an Marian apparitions, apparition or other miracle ascribed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or a site on which is centered a historically strong Blessed Virgin Mary, Marian devotion ...
. Many people started to organize pilgrimages in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
and ask for temporal and spiritual favours. This prompted the ecclesiastical authorities to build a sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...
which would be able to accommodate the crowds that were now daily visiting the small chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
.
In 1920 the foundation stone of a modern basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Ta' Pinu
The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of Ta' Pinu ( mt, Santwarju Bażilika tal-Madonna ta' Pinu) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and national shrine located some from the village of Għarb on the island of Gozo, the sis ...
was laid. Today the basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
of Ta' Pinu
The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of Ta' Pinu ( mt, Santwarju Bażilika tal-Madonna ta' Pinu) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and national shrine located some from the village of Għarb on the island of Gozo, the sis ...
remains a very popular destination for Marian pilgrimages.
For the last 15 years of her life, although bed-ridden, Grima was very much at peace with herself and bore her sufferings with patience, fully confident in the will of God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
.
Karmni Grima died on 25 May 1922.
The house where Karmni Grima lived still exists and it has now been turned into a museum.The Times 01Dec2013 on-line:http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20131201/gozo/Karmni-Grima-s-house-turned-into-a-museum.497020 Accessed 11Jun2014
References
External links
Karmni Grima Museum on facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grima, Karmni Marian apparitions Maltese Roman Catholics Servants of God Roman Catholic mystics 20th-century venerated Christians 1922 deaths 1838 births People from Għarb