About this festa

Għajnsielem is the first village visitors encounter after stepping off the ferry from Malta at Mġarr harbour. Its name means peaceful spring in Maltese. The parish church of Our Lady of Loreto, built in 1820, overlooks the harbour and the channel between the two islands. The August festa is celebrated with particular pride by a community that has long been the gateway to Gozo, with the harbour setting giving the evening procession and fireworks a dramatic backdrop visible from the sea. Our Lady of Loreto is venerated at the Shrine of Loreto in Italy, where tradition holds that angels transported the house of the Holy Family from Nazareth to Loreto in the thirteenth century to protect it from the Crusaders' retreat. She is the patron saint of aviators and air travellers. The shrine in Għajnsielem overlooks the harbour channel, and the festa has been celebrated here since the church was built in 1820.