Second Sunday in July
Maria Annunzjata, Balzan, Malta
Balzan's Catholic church was built in the late 1600s. Its altarpiece featured a painting of the Annunciation. In 1859 a new one by Guiseppe Calleja replaced it. But the glory of the parish is the 1868 Annunciation by Maltese woodcarver
Salvatore Dimech, with statues of both Our Lady and the Archangel Gabriel, adorned with jeweled haloes donated by parishioners. The kneeling Virgin wears a peacock blue mantle over
a scarlet robe. Her dangling earrings and dark brown hair peep from a golden veil.
The parish does celebrate the liturgical Feast of the Annunciation on March 25 but holds its big festa in honor of Mary's Annunciation on the second Sunday in July. Starting nine days beforehand, the town is decorated with lights. The church holds special masses every afternoon. There are concerts by the St. Gabriel Band Club and the Annunciation Philharmonic Society, and fireworks manufactured and displayed by the March 25 Pyrotechnic Society. On the day of the festa, these groups, and others from around Malta, accompany Mary's statue in procession through the streets.
Picture and information from the Balzan Parish website, www.balzanparish.com.
Also celebrated this date:
 | Notre-Dame de Grâce, Walcourt, Namur, Wallonia, Belgium. Pilgrimage to church in Berzée village. |
| Notre-Dame de Lumière, Chimay, Hainaut, Wallonia, Belgium (Our Lady of Light). Procession. |
| Notre Dame du Bon Voyage, Plogoff, Finistère, Brittany, France (Our Lady of Good Voyage) |
| Notre-Dame, Canihuel, Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany, France. Pardon: mass, procession from church to grotto. |
| Notre-Dame de l'Isle, Goudelin, Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany, France. Sat., mass, procession, fireworks; Sun. bazaar, mass; Mon., equestrian swimming. |
| Notre Dame d'Aynès, Sénergues, Aveyron, Occitania, France. Fête: mass, food, games, dancing. |
| Nostra Signora dell'Acqua, Valbrevenna, Genova, Liguria, Italy (Our Lady of the Water). Festa: solemn mass at shrine. |
| Nostra Signora dell’Acqua Santa, La Spezia, Liguria, Italy (Our Lady of the Holy Water). Festa: mass and procession. |
| Madonna della Creta, Castellazzo Bormida, Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy. Patron of motorcyclists. Festa; motorcycle rally. |
| Madonna delle Grazie, Vidor, Treviso, Veneto, Italy. Barbecue, dancing, fireworks. |
| Madonna dell’Angelo, Caorle, Venezia, Veneto, Italy. Annual festa. Nautical procession every five years (2026) on the second Sunday in September. |
| Madonna di Marina, Malamocco, Venezia, Veneto, Italy. Festa: masses, procession, regattas, concert, fireworks. |
| Madonna di San Marco, Bedonia, Parma, Emilia Romagna, Italy (Madre della Consolazione). Festa: masses, concert, fireworks. |
| Madonna del Suffragio, Colonnella, Teramo, Abruzzo, Italy |
| Madonna del Naufrago, Villasimius, Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy |
| Madonna del Carmine, Palestrina, Roma, Latium, Italy |
| Madonna degli Ammalati, Raffadali, Agrigento, Sicily, Italy |
| Madonna del Monte, Racalmuto, Agrigento, Sicily, Italy |
| L'Annunziata, Bagaladi, Reggio Calabria, Calabria, Italy |
| Madonna di Monserrato, Vallelonga, Vibo Valentia, Calabria, Italy |
| Madonna di Corazzo, Castagna, Catanzaro, Calabria, Italy |
| Santa Maria di Monserrato, Scigliano, Cosenza, Calabria, Italy |
| Madonna del Sovereto, Rivello, Potenza, Basilicata, Italy |
| Beata Vergine Maria dello Sterpeto, Barletta, Bari, Puglia, Italy. Festa patronale, procession. |
| Madonna del Popolo, Cesano, Terlizzi, Bari, Apulia, Italy |
| Madonna dell'Abbondanza, Cursi, Lecce, Apulia, Italy |
| Madonna del Pozzo, Squinzano, Lecce, Apulia, Italy |
| Virgin Mary of Succour, Gozo, Malta |
| Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Gzira, Malta |
| Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Fgura, Malta |
| Nuestra Señora de Ocotlán, Tlaxcala, Mexico |
| Nossa Senhora da Livração, Santa Maria da Feira, Aveiro, Norte, Portugal, Ordonhe locality, Argoncilhe parish |
| Nossa Senhora da Conceição, Pinhão, Alijó, Douro, Norte, Portugal |
| Senhora da Serra, Baião, Porto, Norte, Portugal. Romaria. |
| Nossa Senhora de Antime, Fafe, Porto, Norte, Portugal |
| Nossa Senhora do Bom Despacho, Maia, Porto, Norte, Portugal (Our Lady of Good Dispatch) |
| Senhora dos Remédios, Penafiel, Porto, Norte, Portugal |
| Virgen de la Soledad, Aloños, Villacarriedo, Pas-Miera, Cantabria, Spain (Virgin of Loneliness) |
| Santa María de Iguacel, Castiello de Jaca, Huesca, Aragon, Spain. Romería. |
| Virgen de la Cereza, Covarrubias, Burgos, Castile and León, Spain (Virgin of the Cherry). Offering during cherry festival. |
| Virgen de la Cabeza, Priego, Córdoba, Andalucía, Spain (Virgin of the Head) |
| St. Mary, Glastonbury, Somerset, England, UK. Catholic diocesan pilgrimage; procession, mass in Abbey grounds. |