Coastal view with waves and buildings.

Our Lady of Graces in Gozo 2026: Victoria’s Last Feast of the Season

Victoria closes its festa year the way it opens most of its other business: quietly, and in a corner of the capital the summer crowds mostly miss. The feast of Our Lady of Graces, known locally as il-festa tal-Kappuċċini, takes place at the Capuchin friars’ sanctuary on Sunday 20 September 2026, and it is the last word of the Gozo summer season.

When Is the Feast of Our Lady of Graces 2026?

The feast day is Sunday 20 September 2026, with the eve on Saturday the 19th. The date moves year to year and it is worth understanding why, because listings often get it wrong. The liturgical feast of Our Lady of Graces falls on 12 September, and the friars mark that date with the ħruġ tal-vara, bringing the statue out of its niche. The celebrated festa follows eight days later, with a full programme running between the two.

Top Tip: This is Victoria’s third feast of the summer, after St George’s in July and Santa Marija in August, but it belongs to a different parish altogether, the Capuchin friary rather than either of the city’s two main churches, and it is a noticeably smaller, quieter affair than either.

What Makes This Feast Different

The signature tradition here is not a band march or a pole over the water, it is a pilgrimage on wheels. On the morning of the feast, riders gather in Pjazza tal-Kapuċċini and set off at 11am for Ta’ Pinu. At 11.30am the pilgrimage proper starts back, motorcycles and bicycles accompanying the image of Our Lady of Graces from the square at Ta’ Pinu to the front of the sanctuary in Victoria. The machines are blessed on arrival and every rider is given a memento. It is more pilgrimage than parade, and easily the thing to time your morning around.

If you are new to Gozo’s festa calendar, our Gozo village feasts guide covers the traditions behind what you’re watching, and how this feast fits alongside Victoria’s other two.

The 2026 Programme

Saturday 12 September: The Statue Comes Out

The liturgical feast day. Mass at 7pm is led by Patri Joe Libreri OFMCap, and afterwards the devotional statue of Our Lady of Graces is brought out from its niche. The Rosary and kurunella precede it at 6.30pm. Then everyone moves outside for pizza night on the zuntier, the parvis in front of the church, which tells you most of what you need to know about the scale and mood of this feast.

Sunday 13 to Tuesday 15 September: The Themed Days

Three evenings, each given to a different group. Sunday is the day of living and deceased benefactors, with special prayers at the 7am, 9am and 11am masses. Monday is the day of vocations, with silent adoration from 4.30pm and mass at 7pm led by Patri Ryan Dalli OFMCap. Tuesday is the presentation of babies to the Madonna, which happens after the 7pm mass celebrated by Dun Massimo Buttiġieġ.

Wednesday 16 to Friday 18 September: The Tridu

The three days of the tridu, each with mass at 7am, the Rosary and kurunella at 6.30pm, and the tridu mass at 7pm with the homily given by Mons. Joseph Sultana. The Żebbuġ parish choir sings each evening, directed by Franco Cefai.

Two of those nights are worth knowing about if you want the social side rather than the liturgy. Thursday the 17th brings the traditional festa meal at 8pm, ticketed in advance rather than paid on the door. Friday the 18th is the Lejla Għawdxija at 8pm, an evening of Gozitan and Maltese folk singers with the Aurora Folk Group.

Saturday 19 September: The Eve

The evening opens at 6.15pm with a solemn translation carrying the relic of Our Lady, setting off from the home of the last family to have hosted the pilgrim picture of Our Lady of Graces. The families who took the picture into their homes as part of that chain of prayer are remembered particularly. Vespers follow at 6.30pm, then at 7pm a concelebration led by Patri Ivan Scicluna OFMCap, Minister Provincial of the Capuchin Friars Minor.

At 8.45pm the Banda Ċittadina Leone march with the statue of Our Lady from Triq Sir Luigi Camilleri up to the zuntier. At 11pm the statue is raised onto its pedestal and the march closes with a pyrotechnic display synchronised to music, fired by the Cobra Firing System in front of the sanctuary. That is the biggest set piece of the week, and it is worth staying up for.

Sunday 20 September: Feast Day

Mass at 7am, then at 9am the concelebration led by Mons. Anton Teuma, Bishop of Gozo, who gives the homily, with the Żebbuġ parish choir singing under Franco Cefai. There is a further mass at 11am, at the same time the pilgrimage riders leave the square for Ta’ Pinu.

The afternoon picks up again at 5pm with the Rosary and kurunella, followed at 5.30pm by mass led by Mons. Noel Saliba, Archpriest of the Cathedral, with the Cathedral parish’s Aurora Youth Choir under Matthew Sultana.

At 7pm the artistic and devotional statue of Our Lady of Graces goes out in procession through Triq il-Kapuċċini, Triq Sir Luigi Camilleri, Triq Mons. Dirjanu Lanzon, Triq il-Belliegħa and Triq Patri Ġjaċintu Camenzuli, with a pause at the start of Triq il-Belliegħa to pray the Rosary.

At around 9.30pm there is a pyrotechnic salute in the street in front of the sanctuary as the procession comes to its last stretch. The crowd gathers on the zuntier to acclaim Our Lady with the aux flambeaux lit, and the feast closes outdoors with the sacramental blessing, the Leone Band playing and soprano Ruth Portelli singing the hymn.

Where to Stay for the Feast

Victoria is Gozo’s best-connected base at any time of year, and by mid-September the accommodation squeeze of August has eased considerably. Our guide to Victoria, Gozo has the full run of where to stay in the capital.

Getting There and Home Again

Victoria sits at the centre of Gozo’s bus network, so this is one of the easiest feasts on the island to reach without a car. Buses thin out after about 9pm, so plan on Bolt or eCabs for the journey home if you’re staying outside the capital.

You can find full details in our guide to getting to and around Gozo.

FAQ

The feast day is Sunday 20 September 2026, with the eve on Saturday the 19th. The programme starts on 12 September, the liturgical feast day, when the statue comes out of its niche.

No. Santa Marija is Victoria’s Cathedral parish feast on 15 August. Our Lady of Graces is a separate, smaller feast at the Capuchin sanctuary in September.

No. Most years it marks the end of the summer festa season, when there’s a different celebration each weekend. There’s still a handful of feasts to come in September, November and December.

A tradition where riders travel from Ta’ Pinu sanctuary to the Capuchins’ church in Victoria, arriving around 11.30am on the feast day to be blessed and given mementos. It’s one of the more distinctive traditions in Gozo’s festa calendar.

Yes. The main display comes at 11pm on the eve, Saturday 19 September, synchronised to music and fired by the Cobra Firing System in front of the sanctuary. There is a further pyrotechnic salute at around 9.30pm on the feast day itself, as the procession returns.

Yes. The masses, procession, band marches and fireworks are all free and open to visitors.

Xagħra is about ten minutes from Victoria by road. Buses run until around 9pm and follow the public holiday timetable on the 8th, so plan on Bolt or eCabs for the ride home, or stay within walking distance in the village.

Victoria is the hub of Gozo’s bus network and reachable from almost anywhere on the island. Services thin out after 9pm, so plan on Bolt or eCabs for the return trip.

Our Lady of Graces is one of Gozo’s quieter festas: a pilgrimage on wheels, a small procession, and in most years, the last word of the season. For the full run of dates, our village feasts guide has the whole calendar, and our What’s on in Gozo in September? has our picks for everything else happening that month.