GOZO C O U N T R Y S I D E W A L K S
Legend has it that a poor and pious peasant, who eked out a miserable livelihood from weaving, devotedly visited this chapel every day. She used to pray to the Madonna, imploring the Virgin to help her gain enough money to buy oil to replenish the chapel’s oil lamp. During May she would take a bunch of wild flowers as an offering. One day when she did not feel well,a beautiful lady appeared in front of her and bid her make her way to the chapel and take an earthenware jug with her. The peasant dutifully complied and when she approached the churchyard she saw liquid oozing out of a crack in the wall. To her joy, she realised that it was pure oil.This was the reply to her constant prayer: more oil to offer to the Blessed Virgin. Filled with unrestrained excitement,she rushed to break the news to the priest,who was dumbstruck.The news of this miraculous happening soon spread like wildfire throughout Gozo and soon enough, everyone was flocking to take oil for free.
The old chapel known as ‘Il-Kapella talMadonna taz-Zejt’
A stone sculpture representing Holy Souls
Unfortunately, greed lost no time in turning this miraculous event into a commercial opportunity, as large containers of oil were taken away by people with an eye for a quick profit. Legend has it that as a sign of divine disapproval, tongues of flame replaced the blessed oil. However, after some time,a water spring substituted the fire and kept running for many years in the watercourse next to the churchyard. However, once more,a dispute over this water spring that led to a bitter fight between two families incurred divine wrath and this time the spring dried up for good.
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