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, 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 small village of Żabbar began the season of Lent with Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces.
In the 16th century, pilgrimages to the church of Żabbar were especially popular on Wednesday, more so, the number of pilgrimages surged on Ash Wednesday. The latter used to be an important day of atonement for any excesses done during Carnival. Eventually, from Ash Wednesday to Quadragesima Sunday, the day of pilgrimages was eventually transferred and set, as the name implies, as People's Sunday. This used to be a day where a large number of people would come to visit the church of Żabbar. Nonetheless, it goes without saying that this custom of making amends for Carnival's excess is not exclusively limited to Żabbar. Traditionally, for instance, Valletta's Carnival was limited to members of the Order or to foreigners serving the Order, whereas the Carnival in Senglea used to be open for the Maltese. In effect, 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, from a day of repentance, eventually become a 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. On 7 March 1927, a corteo took place, in which all the religious and secular organisations of Żabbar, together with the philharmonic societies of the village, took part. This pilgrimage left from Sanctuary Street and ended inside the church. Just one year following this reform, an officer from the mounted section, who used to take part in the event, died when his horse jolted and threw him onto the ground.
Later, a new custom of mentioning devotional vows made to Our Lady was introduced. Here, the parish priest would read some of the more important 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. Another case mentioned was that of Fortunato Inguanez, who was on his death bed and regained his life, after promising Our Lady to make a 100 holy stamps. There was also mention of a child from Paola who suffered a severe ailment and who regained his health after prayers to Our Lady.
An important feature of People's Sunday used to be the historic-religious floats paraded through the streets of Zabbar 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 thematic was wedded with themes of intercession where Mary is considered as an advocate in the needs of people, be it hunger, shipwreck or slavery. The Malta Victorious Statue was paraded in the streets, 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 of Żabbar, and whom before their rise to papacy used to pray regularly in the Sanctuary of Żabbar. The narrative of the sanctuary was further recounted through the parading of old paintings or their reproduction.
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 Sale College and the Museum. As these were not limited only to Catholic organisations, they also included the Żabbar Primary School, the local football club and the Physical Cultural Centre. Fr Zarb's successor, Fr Joseph Vella, introduced new floats by Anthony De Giovanni.
With the coming of Vatican II and the new renewal, bellicose themes did not remain the voice of the Church in public. The floats were no longer paraded on the streets and the small painting of Our Lady preceded by the Archbishop, the Żabbar clergy and other diocesan and religious priests from Żabbar followed by some pilgrims was all that remained from People's Sunday. As time flew by, the number of people for this pilgrimage decreased in number and the Grupp Armar Żabbar recommended to the Committee for the Festivities of the fourth 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. The outcome was remarkably positive as the number of pilgrims once again increased.
This year, after an interruption of two years caused by the pandemic, the pilgrimage with the statue of Mariano Gerada, which this year commemorates his 200th year anniversary since his demise, returns to the streets of Żabbar. This Diocesan pilgrimage leaves the Sanctuary today at 4.15pm, followed by a solemn Mass celebrated by the Archbishop.