Karmni Grima
Encyclopedia
Karmni Grima was a Maltese peasant whose mystical religious experience led to the construction of the church of Our Lady of Ta' Pinu.
Karmni Grima was born in the village of Għarb in Gozo
, the sister island of Malta
. 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)
in a small chapel
dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary , Karmni would go to work in the fields.
On the 22nd June 1883 while, as usual she was passing in front of the small chapel
, she heard a mysterious voice calling her: "Come ... come today. For a whole year, you will not be able to return".
Karmni Grima,although terrified,obeyed and entered into the chapel
. From a painting of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary located in the chapel
, Karmni heard a voice saying: "Recite three Hail Mary
s in honour of the three days that I stayed within the tomb".
Karmni Grima got sick, and could only return to the chapel
after a year.
Karmni shared this experience with her confessor
of sins and with her friend and neighbour Francesco Portelli. The latter told her that he also heard similar voices. Shortly after this mysterious incidents, Francesco's mother was miraculously healed by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
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
and Malta
and the small and abandoned chapel
soon became a Marian shrine. Many people started to organize pilgrimages in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary and ask for temporal and spiritual favours. This prompted the ecclesiastical authorities to build a sanctuary
which would be able to accommodate the crowds that were now daily visiting the small chapel
.
In 1920 the foundation stone of a modern basilica
dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Ta' Pinu was laid. It is still a 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
.
Karmni Grima died on 25 February 1922.
The house where Karmni Grima lived still exists and it has now been turned into a museum.
Karmni Grima was born in the village of Għarb in Gozo
Gozo
Gozo is a small island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Southern European country of Malta; after the island of Malta itself, it is the second-largest island in the archipelago...
, the sister island of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. 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 (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
in a small chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary , Karmni would go to work in the fields.
On the 22nd June 1883 while, as usual she was passing in front of the small chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, she heard a mysterious voice calling her: "Come ... come today. For a whole year, you will not be able to return".
Karmni Grima,although terrified,obeyed and entered into the chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
. From a painting of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary located in the chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, Karmni heard a voice saying: "Recite three Hail Mary
Hail Mary
The Angelic Salutation, Hail Mary, or Ave Maria is a traditional biblical Catholic prayer asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Hail Mary is used within the Catholic Church, and it forms the basis of the Rosary...
s in honour of the three days that I stayed within the tomb".
Karmni Grima got sick, and could only return to the chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
after a year.
Karmni shared this experience with her confessor
Confessor
-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. The term is still used in this way in the East. In Latin Christianity it has come to signify any saint, as well as those who have been declared...
of sins and with her friend and neighbour Francesco Portelli. The latter told her that he also heard similar voices. Shortly after this mysterious incidents, Francesco's mother was miraculously healed by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
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
Gozo is a small island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Southern European country of Malta; after the island of Malta itself, it is the second-largest island in the archipelago...
and Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
and the small and abandoned chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
soon became a Marian shrine. Many people started to organize pilgrimages in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary and ask for temporal and spiritual favours. This prompted the ecclesiastical authorities to build a sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
which would be able to accommodate the crowds that were now daily visiting the small chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
.
In 1920 the foundation stone of a modern basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Ta' Pinu was laid. It is still a 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
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
.
Karmni Grima died on 25 February 1922.
The house where Karmni Grima lived still exists and it has now been turned into a museum.