In Rabat, there is a cave or grotto known as St Paul's grotto or cave. It is named this way because during his stay in Malta, St Paul who evangelised Malta had lived in it.

In 1960 Malta celebrated with great pomp the 19th centenary of the coming of St Paul, and for the occasion a lamp was installed and lit up with the intention that once lit it shall burn for all time. Each parish used to donate one year's supply of oil. Pope Paul VI left three lamps in his will to a certain Monsignor so that he disposes them according to his wishes. The Monsignor brought them to Malta and placed them in the cave of St Paul in Rabat.

Pope John Paul II visited the cave and stayed there to pray to God, when he was in Malta a number of years ago.

A note to some non-christian korean and spanish visitors who like to hotlink this image (foiled you again). The Pope is NOT praying to the statue. The statue is like when you keep a photo of your parents. It's not the photo which is important, and neither is the statue. The statue of St Paul is an important memory for the Christian faith! It reminds us of the evangelisation he did, especially here in Malta!

In 1999, tears of blood were seen on the face of the statue of the Madonna ta' l-Ghar (Our Lady of the Cave) in May. The original statue is located in St Paul's Cave, Rabat, while the replica which 'wept' was kept in the Dominican church close to the cave. The Curia said, on April 27th 2000, that the Holy See's Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith suggested that an experts' commission be set up to continue investigating the tears of blood.

The procession with the statue, usually held on 7th May, has been cancelled, the Curia stated. Archbishop Mercieca had asked for the opinion of the Holy See about whether to hold it or not. The Congregation gave the advice that pastoral prudence had to be taken, since the statue was associated with phenomena which had still to be examined by the ecclesiastical authorities, and as a result, it should not be exposed to veneration.

Devotion and love to Our Lady has not been discouraged, the Curia added, highlighting the fact that one had to be prudent in such cases. All the data about this case, which includes test results collated by a team of experts conducted in Malta, were sent to the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, which is the part of the Holy See which deals with this type of phenomena.

Earlier, the Church set up a commission which included forensic expert Anthony Abela Medici to see what could have produced a blood-red teardrop that appeared twice at the beginning of May last year.

Such phenomena has a number of possible sources, which must be discerned: authentic - from God, or a deception by man or the devil. If it is proved not of supernatural origin, it should have no effect whatsoever on the faith of those who truly believe in Jesus. If it is from God, then the usual message from such a spiritual treasure is the following: The Mother of God is calling us all to pray, pray, and pray; to repent, for Jesus has been offended by the multiplication of sins against His Sacred Heart, thus Mary exhorts humanity to live the Gospel of Christ - through prayer and repentance, and an increased devotion to the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Reconciliation.

Weeping icons and eucharistic miracles are occurring in many countries.

Catholic Sites mostly on Marian Apparitions, Locutions, Eucharistic Miracles