Birthday of Mary

Statue of a young Mary in Naxxar parish

On September 8, the church celebrates the Birthday of the Blessed Mother, and obviously Malta takes the opportunity to celebrate a quadruple celebration in 4 different churches, Naxxar, Senglea, Mellieha, all in Malta, and Xaghra on the sister island of Gozo. The customary procession will take place in the evening, accompanied by marching bands, fireworks, but most impressive of all, a very devotional aspect is highlighted in all 4 parishes, all with their own statue of the young Madonna. Combined with this feast, we also celebrate today the victory of the Maltese against the Turks in 1565, thereby coining the phrase of Our Lady of Victory. The Ottoman Empire was trying to take over all of Europe in the middle of the 16th century, and thanks to the Knights of Malta, the inhabitants were able to join forces and defeat the Turks in what has become known as the Great Siege of Malta which lasted from May 18 till September 11, 1565. 

A painting depicting the Great Siege of Malta in 1565

A few years later the Battle of Lepanto took place on October 7, 1571 in which a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of European Catholic maritime states arranged by Pope Pius V, led by Spanish admiral Don Juan of Austria and mostly financed by the Spanish Empire, decisively defeated the fleet of the Ottoman Empire on the northern edge of the Gulf of Corinth off western Greece. The Ottoman forces sailing westwards from their naval station in Lepanto met the Holy League forces, which came from Messina, Sicily, where they had previously gathered. The victory of the Holy League prevented the Ottoman Empire from expanding further along the European side of the Mediterranean. Lepanto was the last major naval battle in the Mediterranean fought entirely between galleys and has been assigned great symbolic and historical importance by several historians. In honor of this victory, October 7 has always been celebrated as Our Lady of the Rosary.