St Bernard of Clairvaux once wrote: ‘Mary, the whole world awaits your reply.’ Seven centuries before J. L Austin would have written of the illocutionary power of words, St Bernard of Clairvaux had hinted that the salvation of the whole world rested on a singular ‘yes’.

It is because of the faithful’s awareness that salvation came to the world through Christ and thanks to the Virgin Mary, that, for many centuries, the village of Żabbar began the season of Lent with a celebration of Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces.

In the 16th century, pilgrimages to the Żabbar church were especially popular on Wednesdays. The number of pilgrimages particularly surged on Ash Wednesday, which used to be an important day of atonement for any excesses that occurred during carnival. Eventually, the day of pilgrimages was eventually transferred to what became known as Ħadd in-Nies or People’s Sunday.

A large number of people would visit the church of Żabbar on this day. However, this custom of making amends for carnival’s excesses was not limited to Żabbar.

A statue of Pope Alexander VII, a devotee of Our Lady of Graces, during ‘Ħadd in-Nies’ in Żabbar.

Traditionally, Valletta’s carnival was limited to members of the Orders or to foreigners serving the Order, whereas the carnival in Senglea used to be open to the Maltese. In these areas, the kwaranturi used to be held on each of the three days of carnival, with the intention of atoning for any immoralities.

Back to Żabbar, People’s Sunday eventually became a sort of second carnival. Some even went so far as to think that one could have their rest inside the church, but this did not please the parish priest, Fr Leopold Farrugia. Seeing the desecration of the church, by these ill-intentioned people, he ordered the removal of all the chairs and pews from the church and the blessed sacrament was transferred from the tabernacle on the high altar to the one in the sacristy.

Fr Aloysius Catania reinstated the significance of the event in the 1920s.

A cortège featuring all the religious and secular organisations of Żabbar, together with the philharmonic societies of the village, took place on March 7, 1927. This pilgrimage left from Sanctuary Street and ended in the church.

The crowd attending the People’s Sunday in 1950.

Later, a new custom was introduced: during the pilgrimage, the parish priest would read out some of the more important devotional vows made to Our Lady. In 1954, 4,020 vows were registered, of which Fr Zarb chose the conversion of a man from Valletta who could not leave his mundane life behind and vowed to Our Lady to offer two rings if he managed to change his life.

A cortège featuring all the religious and secular organisations of Żabbar, together with the philharmonic societies of the village, took place on March 7, 1927. This pilgrimage left from Sanctuary Street and ended in the church

Another case was that of Fortunato Inguanez, who was on his deathbed and regained his life after promising Our Lady to make 100 holy stamps. There was also mention of a child from Paola who suffered a severe ailment and who regained his health after taking recourse to Our Lady.

An important feature of People’s Sunday used to be the historic-religious floats paraded through the streets of Żabbar, depicting bellicose themes such as the Great Siege, the Victory of Lepanto, the Conquest of Tunis, the Siege of Vienna and the battle of the Dardanelles. Pugnacious themes wedded with themes of intercession as Mary is considered an advocate in the needs of people, be they hunger, shipwreck or slavery.

The Malta Victorious Statue was paraded in the street, together with other important representations of important figures related to the sanctuary of Żabbar such as Pope Innocent XII and Pope Alexander VII, both devotees of Our Lady of Graces, and who used to pray regularly in the Żabbar sanctuary before their rise to papacy.

The narrative of the sanctuary was further recounted in the pilgrimage through the parading of old paintings or their reproduction.

The pilgrimage today with the statue of Our Lady of Graces and the crowd gathered to pray behind the statue. Photo: Andre Gialanze

The 23 floats paraded in 1970 were taken care of by various associations present in Żabbar. These included all the sections of the Catholic Action, both band clubs, De La Salle College and the MUSEUM, but they were not limited to Catholic organisations. They also included the Żabbar primary school, the local football club, and the Physical Cultural Centre. Zarb’s successor, Fr Joseph Vella, introduced new floats by Anthony De Giovanni.

With the implementation of Vatican II and a new search for renewal, bellicose themes did not remain the voice of the church in public. No more floats paraded on the street and all that remained of People’s Sunday was the pilgrimage led by the archbishop, the Żabbar clergy and other diocesan and religious priests from Żabbar and the image of Our Lady.

Along the years, the number of pilgrims decreased and the Grupp Armar Żabbar recommenced to the Committee for the Festivities of 4th Century since the commencement of the parish and to the parish priest – Rev. Can. Evan Caruana – to renew the pilgrimage by including the statue of Our Lady of Graces in it. The outcome was remarkably positive as the number of pilgrims rose.

This year, after an interruption of two years due to the pandemic, the pilgrimage with the statue of Our Lady by Mariano Girada – who passed away 200 years ago – is returning to the streets of Żabbar. This pilgrimage will leave the sanctuary today at 4.15pm and will be followed by a solemn mass celebrated by Archbishop Charles Scicluna.