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 13 September 2026, the first Sunday after 8 September, and it normally closes out the Gozitan festa summer season. This year, unusually, it shares its Sunday with another one.
When Is the Feast of Our Lady of Graces 2026?
The feast day is Sunday 13 September 2026. Like several of Gozo’s smaller festas, the date moves slightly year to year, always falling on the first Sunday after 8 September, so it never collides with Xagħra’s Nativity of Our Lady feast on the 8th itself, held the same week.
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.
An Unusual Overlap in 2026
Most years, this is genuinely the last festa of the Gozo season. Not in 2026: Munxar’s feast of St Paul, usually held on the third weekend of May, was postponed this year because of the general election, and now falls on the very same Sunday, 13 September, as Our Lady of Graces. If you’re on Gozo that weekend, you have the rare choice of two festas on the same day, one in the capital, one in Munxar, roughly twenty minutes apart by road. Worth knowing if you’re planning to catch both, since the big set pieces (mass times, the procession, the fireworks) will overlap rather than stagger.
What Makes This Feast Different
The signature tradition here isn’t a band march or a pole over the water, it’s a pilgrimage on wheels. Each year, motorcycles and bicycles ride from Ta’ Pinu sanctuary to the Capuchins’ church in Victoria, arriving mid-morning on the feast day to be blessed by one of the friars, who hands out mementos to everyone who’s made the journey. It’s a genuinely distinctive tradition among Gozo’s festas, more pilgrimage than parade, and worth timing your visit around if you want to see it arrive.
The rest of the programme is a smaller-scale version of what you’d see at Santa Marija: a translation of the relic the evening before, a band march with the outdoor statue, fireworks synchronised to music, and a procession with the titular statue on the feast day itself, accompanied by the Leone Band, the same band that plays Victoria’s Cathedral feast in August. The whole thing wraps up a few days later with a quiet Thanksgiving Day mass, after which the statue goes back into its niche until next year.
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.
Confirmed 2026 Dates So Far
Saturday 12 September, 6.15pm: The translation of the relic of Our Lady, led by Fr Massimo Buttigieg, starting from the home of the family that most recently hosted the parish’s pilgrim image as part of its chain of prayer. Families who have hosted the image are invited to take part. A concelebrated mass follows vespers, with singing led by Marita Zammit Cassar.
Saturday 12 September, 8.45pm: A band march by the Leone Band, accompanying the outdoor statue of Our Lady from Sir Luigi Camilleri Street to the church parvis, where the statue is placed on its pedestal. A fireworks display synchronised to music, staged by the Cobra Firing System, follows in front of the sanctuary.
Sunday 13 September, 9am: Solemn concelebrated mass, led by Cathedral archpriest Joseph Sultana, who also delivers the panegyric, with the Żebbuġ parish choir under Mro Franco Cefai.
Sunday 13 September, 11.30am: The traditional pilgrimage of motorcycles and bicycles arrives from Ta’ Pinu sanctuary. Fr Joe Libreri OFM Cap. blesses the participants on arrival and distributes mementos.
Sunday 13 September, 6pm: Mass celebrated by Mgr Joe Zammit, with the Aurora Youth Choir under Matthew Sultana.
Sunday 13 September, 7pm: Procession with the titular statue of Our Lady, accompanied by the Leone Band. Soprano Ruth Portelli sings the Ave Maria at the church parvis as the statue returns.
Tuesday 16 September, 7pm: Thanksgiving Day mass, after which the statue of Our Lady is returned to its niche, closing the festa.
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
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.