Nicholas J. Cauchi, Ta’ Pinu Shrine. The pilgrim’s haven, Gozo Press, Ghajnsielem, Malta 2008. 152 pages.

Nicholas J. Cauchi, the bishop emeritus of Gozo, has just given us another interesting literary contribution, this time of a historical nature.

Years ago, in 1983, bishop Cauchi had published the history of the Ta’ Pinu Marian sanctuary in Gozo written in the Maltese language; it was so popular that it was sold out. Now he is giving us the history of the sanctuary in the English language thus making it possible for the thousands of pilgrims who visit it to learn about the origins and history of the place.

The earliest historical research about the Marian sanctuary had been written by Mgr Giuseppe Farrugia, rector of the Gozo Seminary and private secretary to bishop Pietro Pace, in 1891; it was written in Italian and published as La Beata Vergine Ta’ Pinu a Gozo.

The present volume by Bishop Cauchi covers the entire period from the early foundations of the little chapel in the western Gozitan countryside to the present age. Ta’ Pinu Shrine. The pilgrim’s haven has just been published by Ta’ Pinu Publications at the end of the 125th anniversary year of Our Lady’s Call; it focuses especially on the coronation celebrations at Ta’ Pinu presided by the Pope’s personal legate Benedictine cardinal Agostino Lepicier and the visit of the first Roman Pontiff ever, John Paul II, in May 1990, when he added a few golden stars to the ancient picture depicted by late Medieval painter Perugino.

Bishop Cauchi manages to narrate the history of the Ta’ Pinu Sanctuary while putting it into the wider context of the development of the new diocese of Gozo which was established in 1864 by Pope Pius IX.

The book is sold in the Sanctuary itself at the price of e7 and contains 152 pages.