Hundreds of cyclists and bikers made their way to Żabbar on Sunday morning, followed by a truck carrying a picture of the village patron - Our Lady of Graces.

The annual pilgrimage, organised on the occasion of the village feast, saw some cycling their way to Żabbar from Rabat, and others biking it from Mosta.

First organised in 1951, the pilgrimage has become an annual event and follows a similar one organised for children a week before the parish feast.

When it was first organised, the pilgrimage was not meant to be an annual event. However, it had gone down so well with the people of Żabbar that upon their request, a second edition was organised in 1954 and has since been run yearly.

In 2001 the pilgrimage organising committee requested Pope John Paul II to declare Żabbar's Our Lady of Graces as the patron of Maltese and Gozitan motorists and cyclists. This request was accepted in 2003.

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