President of Malta, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, and Mr Edgar Preca, together with Ambassador of Malta to the United States, Pierre Clive Agius, attended mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, a Basilica with a Maltese connection, in the heart of Washington D.C. The Mass was celebrated in Maltese, by Reverend Emanuel P. Magro, Assistant Professor of Catechetics within the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America.
Nestled in the Crypt Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is the dedicated Oratory of Our Lady of Ta’ Pinu, which features a beautiful mosaic reproduction of the original oil painting of the Assumption of Mary, that resides in the Basilica of Ta’ Pinu in Gozo.
President Coleiro Preca, is the first Maltese Head of State to visit Washington D.C., and subsequently, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.