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The Ta’ Pinu Basilica is located is the village of Gharb in the North Western Part of the island.  It is particularly known for its annexed museum recording hundreds of stories of alleged miracles, making the church a famous site for pilgrimages. The origins of the Shrine of Our Lady of ta’ Pinu are unknown. It was first recorded in the archives of the Curia in Gozo, when the Bishop Domenico Cubelles paid a visit to the chapel. This noted that the chapel had just been rebuilt and that it belonged to the noble family of “The Gentile”.

In 1575 the apostolic visitor Pietro Dusina was delegated by Pope Gregory XIII to visit the Maltese Islands. In his pastoral visit to the church, he found that it was in a very bad state. He ordered the church to be closed and demolished and its duties passed to the parish church. When demolition began the workman broke his arm while striking the first blow. This was taken as an omen that the chapel should not be demolished. The church was the only chapel on the island to survive Dusina’s decree ordering the demolition of other similar chapels.

Pinu Gauci became the procurator of the church in 1598 and its name was changed from “Of the Gentile” to “Ta` Pinu”, meaning “Of Philip”. In 1611 Gauci offered money for its restoration. It was rebuilt, with a stone altar erected and investments for liturgical services provided. Gauci also commissioned the painting of the Assumption of Our Lady for the main altar. This was done in 1619 by Amadeo Perugino.

In 1883, Karmni Grima was walking past the now run-down church and heard a voice asking her to recite three Hail Marys’. Over the following years miracles were attributed to the grace of Our Lady of The Assumption to whom the church was dedicated.
The works for the new church began on 30 May 1922 on the initiative of the church’s rector Monsignor Ġużepp Portelli and was consecrated on 31 August 1932. It was built in a neo-romantic style.

In 1883, a woman who was walking by heard the voice of the Virgin Mary in the chapel. In the subsequent years, many miracles and acts of grace were manifested at the site, all attributed to Our Lady of Assumption, to whom the church was dedicated.  The Blessed Virgin of Ta’ Pinu, or as it is known in Maltese, “Il-Madonna ta’ Pinu” is a religious devotion which originated on Gozo, the sister island of Malta. The many Maltese and Gozitans living abroad have managed to spread this devotion in many other parts of the world.

From 1887 onwards, many pilgrimages were organized to this chapel, and the need for a new, much larger church arose. On 30 May 1920, the foundation stone of the new church was laid. The church was finally consecrated on 13 December 1931, and from that day onwards, the numerous people visiting the church did not cease. Ta’ Pinu Sanctuary holds an annual ceremony of the presentation of babies to Our Lady of Ta’ Pinu, during which baptised babies are presented to The Blessed Mother of Ta’ Pinu, while the parents pray to the Mother of God that she may keep her maternal protection over their children and families.

The Virgin of Ta’ Pinu has often been connected to several miraculous healings of both Maltese and foreigners, who claim to have been saved, healed or helped through the intercession of the Virgin.
Devotion to Our Lady Of Ta’ Pinu has spread to wherever there was a Maltese dispersion. Since thousands of the Maltese and Gozitans emigrated to the United States and to Australia, in these countries the Maltese have even erected shrines dedicated to the Virgin Mary of Ta’ Pinu. This was done to remind the Maltese and Gozitans about their roots and their religious traditions. Many of these Maltese emigrants, when revisiting their homeland, visit Ta’ Pinu, to thank the Virgin Mary for their safe trip.