Former Our Lady of Ta’ Pinu rector remembered

The first anniversary of the death of Mgr Beneditt Camilleri, who dedicated his life to spreading devotion to Our Lady of Ta’ Pinu, was marked with mass celebrated by the current rector, Mgr Carmelo Refalo, at Ta’ Pinu sanctuary.

Mgr Camilleri, born in Għarb, served as rector of the sanctuary between 1968 and 1998. He dedicated his life to pastoral and Marian service. In 1967, he began serving as an assistant at the sanctuary and a year later he was appointed rector, a position he held for around 30 years.

He was a great promoter of devotion to Our Lady of Ta’ Pinu both in Malta and abroad. Through his visits to Maltese communities in America and Australia, he worked to spread Marian devotion among Maltese emigrants. Between 1992 and 1993, he was instrumental in establishing the sanctuary of Our Lady of Ta’ Pinu in Australia at Bacchus Marsh near Melbourne, where he continued serving as spiritual director until his death at the age of 95. Mgr Camilleri is buried in the grave of the Maltese Dominican Sisters in Australia.

Mgr Camilleri was known for his deep spirituality, his love for the Virgin Mary and his work in support of pilgrimages and religious publications. In 1980, he began publishing a spiritual magazine, Madonna Ta’ Pinu, dedicated to Marian teaching and the life of the sanctuary.