Gozo has been preparing for the arrival of Pope Francis tomorrow as part of his 36th Apostolic Journey.
The Pope leaves the Grand Harbour for Gozo at 3.50pm on the Maria Dolores catamaran which will arrive at Mgarr Harbour at 5.00pm. He leaves Gozo by ship at 6.45pm and arrives at Cirkewwa Harbour at 7.30pm.
The route from Mgarr to Ta’ Pinu by car and popemobile passes along the main road to Victoria.
Pope Francis will be leading a Prayer Meeting on the Parvis of the National Sanctuary of Our Lady of Ta’ Pinu, starting at 5.30pm under the tribune that is being specially constructed by a local company from Xewkija, designed by Mr John Xerri.
Before the Prayer Meeting begins, the Pope will pray in silence in front of the Chapel of Our Lady and say the three Hail Marys that our Lady of Ta’ Pinu recommended to Karmni Grima when she was called to him in 1883, for the sake of the three days that His Holy Body lasted in the tomb before the Ascension. Afterwards, the Pope will pay homage to Our Lady of the Golden Rose.
More details on the visit of Pope Francis and his visit to Ta’ Pinu please click here [1].
A shuttle service will be available [2] from the Xewkija Heliport to Ta’ Pinu,
A dedicated Facebook page for the Papal visit, will be regularly updated and can be found here [3]
There is also a website [4] which can be read in either English or Maltese.
Photographs by Maggie Bajada of some of the scenes in Victoria