The feast of Our Lady of Pompeii will be celebrated at the Pompeii sanctuary in Victoria, next to the Dominican Sisters convent, tomorrow. Masses will be said at 6.45am, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.30pm.
Sanctuary rector, Mgr Eddie Zammit, will be leading the Prayer (Supplica) at noon.
Gozo Vicar General, Mgr Tarċisio Camilleri, will lead evening celebrations at 6pm, including Mass. The Gaulitanus Choir, under the direction of Colin Attard, will take part.
The devotion to Our Lady of Pompeii was initiated by the Italian lawyer Bartolo Longo, who has been declared Blessed by Pope John Paul II. The devotion began when Longo started preparations for the building of a church in Pompeii, dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary. May 8 commemorates the anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone of this church.
In Malta, the devotion started at the Jesuits church in Valletta, soon after Pompeii. Longo described the Maltese devotion as a twin to that of Pompeii.