Ineż Gonzi, whose grave was vandalised on Sunday, was certainly praying for those who damaged and torched the family tomb, her son, Nationalist MP Michael Gonzi told The Times.

"She was a saint. I'm sure she's praying for them," Dr Gonzi, the brother of Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, said.

Her youngest daughter Paulanne Dalli Gonzi, Dr Michael Gonzi's twin sister, made the grim discovery when she visited her mother's grave on Sunday morning, Mother's Day. Marble slabs had been broken and part of the grave, belonging to Mrs Gonzi's family, blackened by fire. Obscenities were also written on the wall.

"She phoned me and I told my brother and then we told our father," Dr Gonzi said. Mrs Gonzi passed away in November 2008, aged 86.

He said the family would be repairing the grave, belonging to Mrs Gonzi's side of the family, as soon as the police investigation was over.

Asked whether he was calling for more security at the Addolorata Cemetery, Dr Gonzi said vandals would always find a way to get in.

"Whatever you do, if someone wants to harm you, they will find ways and means to do this," he said.

It is understood that only Mrs Gonzi's grave was vandalised.

Dr Gonzi said the family believed the vandals intentionally acted before Mother's Day, which made the act even worse. "We don't go every day, but I think it was intended," he said.

Contacted yesterday, a police spokesman said investigations were still under way.