Valletta

St.John’s Co-Cathedral

Dedicated to the Patron Saint of the Order of the Knights of St.John, this church was given Co-Cathedral status with the Mdina Cathedral in 1882. Before it was built, the knights' Conventual church was located at Birgu. Building started in 1573 under Grand Master La Cassiere who paid for the initial cost. The architect was Gerolamo Cassar. Bishop Ludovik de Torres solemnly blessed it in 1578. The church was administered by a chapter of 'cappellani maggiori' all of whom were ordained members of the Order of St.John. The church has a central nave with chapels on each of two aisles, each chapel corresponding to a Langue of the Order, namely: Auvergne, Aragon, Castile, Leon & Portugal, Anglo-Bavarian Langue, Provence, France, Italy, Germany and the Chapel of Our Lady of Philermos. The floor consists of 400 ornate marble gravestones over the graves of the knights who died in Malta. In the crypt lie the remains of several grandmasters in ornate graves. In the courtyard on one side of the church lies a mass grave of the knights who died during the Great Siege.

St.John Oratory

This Oratory or Chapel is adjacent to and can be reached through St.John's Co-Cathedral. It contains the most famous and priceless painting in the Islands, that of the beheading of St.John, painted by Caravaggio.

Annunciation.

The church for the Hospital of the Incurables, founded in 1642 by Catarina Scoppi, was dedicated to the Annunciation. This church stood near Fort St Elmo right across from the entrance to the Sacra Infirmeria - Knights' Hall, which was their Infirmary or Hospital. The Chapel of bones was actually the crypt of this church. The Annunciation was later replaced by the chapel of Our Lady of Mercy built by the Italian Knight Fra Giorgio Nibbia. Only a few ruins remain of Nibbia's church after it was demolished by enemy bombing during WWII. Hopefully the crypt of the Annunciation, which wasn't situated directly below, has survived somewhat.

Blessed Sacrament (Oratory)

The Chapel of the Fraternity of the Blessed Sacrament who worked to deliver communion to the Maltese ravaged by plague occupies part of the Dominican Priory and the Church of Porto Salvo in Valletta. This oratory is now part of a new museum, run in collaboration with the friars by Hidden Valletta.

Blessed Sacrament

Chapel within the Sacra Infirmeria itself erected in 1712 by Grandmaster R.Perellos to cater for the sick and convey the Sacrament to them. After being deconsecrated for a long time, in 2006 it was restored and opened up as a facility for Civil Marriages!

Chapel

Chapel recently restored in the ‘Castellania’ former Courts and Prisons building of the Knights.

Chapel

There is a chapel in Messina Palace on St Christopher Str. This palace built by Knight Fra Pietro de Rocca, was rented out to Knights and dignitaries. It was afterwards owned by the Noble Maltese family of Messina and was purchased by the German-Maltese Circle in 1975.

Chapel
In the Palace that houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As in most other Palaces from the time of the Knights of St John, here we can find a chapel, which was recently restored.

Chapel

This chapel is situated in the old Jesuit College, which later became the University and then the Lyceum. In its latter capacity, it was used as the headmaster's office for a long while. Now that the premises are occupied by Heritage Malta, there are plans for the chapel's future restoration. All the designs including the religious emblem IHS, are painted on the walls and ceiling.

Chapel 

In the 'Comun Erario’, which was the institution which received deposits regarding legal cases. According to A Ferres' 1866 account, this chapel did not exist at that time but in 1780 was still there.

Chapel 

Adoremus chapel for perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Chapel 

At Emigrants House - Dar l-emigrant, run through the Emigrants Commission by the Archdiocese of Malta.

Chapel 

Opposite the Infermeria or Hospital of the Order was a large house called Camerata built by Grand master La Cassiere where some knights led a pious life and at fixed hours in the morning and at night betook themselves to their chapel to pray and meditate. The altar piece was by Mattia Preti and represented the Agony of Our Lord. It is very probable that this painting is the one now in the St. Ursola Church, Valletta. Grand Master Emmanuel Pinto demolished the old building and remodelled and embellished it in the florid style of the period between 1757-60. The chapel was consecrated on November 15, 1760 by Monsignor Constans.

Chapel 

At convent of the Church of St Mary of Jesus.

Chapel in Palazzino Sapienti

Situated directly opposite to the University of Malta Valletta Campus this small palace now serves as the World Headquarters of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller. It dates from 1629 and was built from stone quarried onsite and has only two floors to avoid interfering with the sundial across the street. It has a small chapel set up in an alcove.

Christ Redeemer Sacramentini

Opened in 1692 by Fr.Andrea a Maltese Jesuit, the church was part of a conservatory for orphan girls. Nowadays Franciscan nuns of the Sacred Heart administer it. Perpetual Adoration is held here on different schedules for summer and winter.

Christ Redeemer (Santu Kristu)

Private chapel from the 19th century owned by Fr Charles Vella a priest, on St Ursula street. This priest is a restorer of antiquities and builds up a Neapolitan style crib for the Co-Cathedral Christmastime.

Circumcision of the Lord


This Jesuit church was built on architect Francesco Bonamici's plan. It is the church of the old University of Malta and is incorporated in the old University building. It occupies nearly half the building and was built between 1592 and 1600. On the 12th of September 1634, a gunpowder factory explosion caused serious damage to both the church and college. Most of the church, including its façade, was subsequently rebuilt in the Baroque style by the Luccan architect and engineer Francesco Buonamici. The buildings also suffered some damage during the 1693 Sicily earthquake. When the Jesuits were expelled from the island in 1768, the college was constituted as a University. Work continued throughout the 17th century but the 2 storey early baroque facade of the church still looks incomplete. It contains a disproportionately large number of spiral columns in its three-aisle plan. The titular picture is Mattia Preti's 'Liberation of St.Peter'. In 2016 a general restoration was done on the deteriorating outside stone especially the roof and small domes.

Holy Crucifix ta' Giezu

Oratory annexed to St.Mary of Jesus church. This Oratory contains a 1630 miraculous Crucifix very popular with the Maltese. A few years ago the Crucifix was vandalized by a deranged person but restored again.

Immaculate conception

Adjacent to the church of the Circumcision is the oratory of the Immaculate Conception is endowed with six large paintings which depict episodes from the life of the Virgin Mary.  Together with the titular painting of the Immaculate Conception within the concave reredos of the chancel, the paintings each portray the themes of the Birth of Our Lady, the Presentation of Our Lady in the Temple, the Annunciation, the Visitation of Our Lady to St Elizabeth, the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple, and the Assumption of Our Lady.  The cycle is believed to be the work of two artists, the master Filippino Dingli (d. 1677), and his pupil Stefano Erardi (1630-1716).

Immaculate conception (ONORATI)

Chapel of the Carmelites with a titular picture by G D'Arena.

Immaculate conception 

Chapel of the Carmelites with a titular picture by G D'Arena.

Our Lady of Carmel

The original church of 1573 on the plan by Gerolamo Cassar was altered by Giuseppe Bonavia and enlarged in recent history with the building of a new shell around the original. The present church, whose dome is so imposing on the Valletta skyline, was started in 1958 after the previous edifice was demolished by enemy action in WWII.

Two Oratories used to exist attached to the old church: One dedicated to Our Lady of Carmel and one to St Joseph. Only the one of Our Lady of Carmel was rebuilt after the war.

Our Lady of Charity

Annexed to St Paul’s collegiate is an Oratory dedicated to Our Lady of Charity

Our Lady of Consolation - Tac-Cintura

This oratory falls under the care of the Augustinian fathers, it lies very close to their convent and Parish church of St.Augustine. Perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is held here.

Our Lady of Damascus  Greek Melkite Rite

Giovanni Calamia had planned to build two shrines in the new city of Valletta to venerate the two Greek icons which his family brought from Rhodes. The building of one of these churches had already started during his lifetime, but he did not live long enough to see its completion. He died in Sicily in 1579. The executors of his last will however continued with this work and this church was ready in 1580. Seven years afterwards, in 1587, the Damascena Madonna was solemnly transferred from Vittoriosa to the new church at Valletta, where it attracted the devotion of the Maltese people. In 1637 it is clearly stated that the Maltese held this Greek icon in high esteem. During the middle of the 17th century, the parish priest of the Greek community at Valletta left St.Nicholas church where in 1639 a confraternity of the Souls in Purgatory had been founded with his own permission and established himself definitively in the church of Our Lady of Damascus, retaining at the same time, various jurisdictional rights over St.Nicholas church. The present 'Damascena' church is in Byzantine style and was inaugurated in 1951 to replace the previous building lost to enemy bombing during WWII.

Our Lady of Doctrine

An oratory of this dedication can be reached through the monastery of the Dominican Fathers. Its titular was painted by the famous artist Mattia Preti.

Our Lady of Liesse (of Joy)

A church was built right by the Valletta waterfront of the Grand Harbour in 1620. In 1740 it was completely rebuilt by the French Langue of the Order and was consecrated by Bishop Labini in 1806. It was ruined in 1942 by enemy bombing but restored in 1952. Nowadays it is run by the Order of Franciscan Friars Minor and serves as the seat of the National Centre of the Apostleship of the Sea.

Our Lady of Mercy

This chapel, built in place of an Annunciation chapel by the Italian Knight Fra Giorgio Nibbia and where he was buried in 1619, exists no more. In 1730 the Annunciation chapel was demolished and a new one built further away because of the extension of the hospital. During WWII this chapel took a direct hit during enemy action and the dangerous ruins demolished in 1953. The Our Lady Of Mercy chapel still kept an access to the Annunciation crypt called The chapel of Bones.

Our Lady of Pilar

This used to be the church for the Langues of Castille & Portugal and was built around 1670. In an earthquake in 1693, the dome collapsed and the whole church was remodeled in 1718. The small convent of the Franciscan sisters adjacent to it was opened in 1893.

Our Lady of Porto Salvo & St.Dominic Parish Church.

The Grandmaster gave the Dominican friars the privilege of building a church in Valletta after the Great Siege of 1565. They dedicated it to Our Lady of Porto Salvo (of Safe Haven). It was declared 'the principal parish and matrix of the whole of the new city' by Pope Pius V through his Apostolic Bull Ex Debito Pastoralis on the 2nd July 1571. Although the building of this church was still in progress in 1575 the monks had already started administering the sacraments as they had been given a parish status. Their parish church was ready by 1585 when the boundaries of the two parishes then existing at Valletta were definitively established by Mgr Libertano, Inquisitor and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese. The original church, constructed on the plans of Gerolamo Cassar, had to be pulled down some two hundred years later on account of the 1693 earthquake, which damaged it badly. The new church was rebuilt between 1802 and 1815 and consecrated on the 15th May 1815. On the 25th May 1816 it was elevated to the dignity of a Minor Basilica. Its dedication date is the 15th Oct 1889. The Blessed Sacrament Oratory was also built by the monks by the Church of Porto Salvo & St.Dominic.

Our Lady of the Rosary


The Fraternity of the Rosary had a history of doing charitable work among the families of prisoners who were sentenced to capital punishment and were left destitute by the loss of their providers. They have an oratory of this dedication which is also part of the Dominican Priory and the Church of Porto Salvo and is sited in the new museum.


Our Lady of 'The Infected'

The quarantine complex of Valletta originally had a Chapel of this dedication, which after a time went out of use.

Our Lady of Victory

This is the first building that went up in the city. Its dedication commemorates the end of the Great Siege. Construction of the church started around 1566 - 67. It is a barrel-vaulted church with four altars in the bays between the heavy pilasters supporting the vault, and has an apse on the East side. The belfry was added in 1752. The body of Grandmaster Jean de la Valette was entombed in the church until St.John Co-Cathedral was built. The first foundation stone of the city of Valletta itself lies under the main altar of this church. The outside was renovated completely as recently as 2004 and the inside was redone by 2016.

Our Saviour

In 1713, Grand Master Ramon Perellos ordered a range of warehouses built on the waterfront. At the centre he had the chapel of Our Saviour built with a raised altar so that Mass could be seen on the ships in harbour. The complex was designed by Romano Carapecchia. In 1853, the chapel was dismantled by the British.

Presentation of Our Lady.

Commonly known as St.Catherine, this is the Church Of St.Catherine's Monastery administered by Augustinian nuns. A monastery was built here with funds left by the family of Marquis Vasco Oliviero in the late 1500's. A Chapel dedicated to the Assumption of Mary was added in the early 1600’s. In 1714 the nuns started to build the present monastery and Church on the plan of Fortunato Carapecchia. The project was finished 60 years later and the church dedicated to the Presentation of Our Lady.

St.Anne Chapel

Within Fort St.Elmo and predating the fort itself, it was incorporated in the works of the bastions when the Knights built the fort in the 16th century. Some sources state that predating the building of Valletta, the dedication of this church was St Elmo. The same sources place two more chapels on Xiberras hill at this time, one of St Lucy and the other of St Nicholas. The small titular picture in this chapel was taken from the remains of the Caraque St Anne.

St.Anne Church

This is a larger church than the bastion chapel, built by the Knights of St.John in Fort St.Elmo in 1729.  This historic church was lately transformed into a memorial for the war dead.

St.Anthony Abbott

In 1780 according to A Ferres, there existed in Valletta a Parish Church of this dedication but by 1866 it had lost its title.

St.Augustine Parish Church

This is the Provincial Parish church of the Augustinians in Malta and has an adjoining convent. Gerolamo Cassar built the original church between 1571 and 1596. Severely damaged in the 1693 earthquake, it was demolished soon after and a larger one built between 1765 and 1785. Additional modifications were made until 1794. For a while it was dedicated to St.Mark after 1817 when the Augustinian Order chose St.Mark as the Protector of the Province. Bishop Mons.G.M.Camilleri re-dedicated it to St.Augustine in 1906 and Archbishop M.Gonzi made it a parish church in 1968. Its interior has the form of a Greek cross and is exquisitely decorated. The architect who rebuilt it was Antonio Cachia, the same architect who rebuilt the Auberge de Castille et de Leon. There is an Oratory adjacent to it.  The friars also have a small chapel in their convent.

St.Barbara

Built in 1573 on Giuseppe Bonnici's plan for the Provence Langue of the Order, it was the church of the bombardiers and many of them are buried in the crypt. It was restored in 1601 and completely rebuilt in 1739. For the occasion of the 1904 Jubilee of the Immaculate Conception, a gilt statue of Our Lady was placed in a niche on top of the main doorway. Nowadays it is the parish church for French and German speaking residents.

St.Cajetan

This is the private chapel of Casa Rocca Piccola, a mansion now open for tours. Built as a home for one of the Knights of St.John in the 16th century, it went through changes and extensions under diverse owners especially under British rule. Nowadays it belongs to Baron Testaferrata. 

St.Catherine of Alexandria

The church was built by the Italian Langue of the knights adjacent to their Auberge so they called it Santa Caterina d'Italia. The original church of Gerolamo Cassar's plan built in 1576, was small and when it was agreed to enlarge it in the 17th century, it was decided to add an oval church to the existing chapel and to incorporate the old building as the new church sanctuary. One of its main features is the round painting by Mattia Preti in the shallow cupola. It also has an exquisite portico. Very early in 1999, some pieces of stone of considerable size fell from the lantern of the main dome necessitating urgent work on the exterior which began in 2000 and completed within a year. In 2008 the inside restoration work started with the titular picture of Mattia Preti, then the cupola and the rest of the paintings were done. 

St.Francis of Assisi

The first convent was built in 1598 and the first church in 1607. The present church, larger than the first, was first built in 1681 then again enlarged in 1920 when the shape of the belfry was changed. The Franciscan friars Minor administer it. Tis church also has an Oratory adjacent to it.

St.James

Originally built in 1612 to the plans of Romano Carapecchia to serve the Knights of the Langue of Castile and Leon, this church was rebuilt on Giovanni Barbara's plan in 1710. Its elliptical plan and rich detail on its narrow facade are truly Roman Baroque. Nowadays it serves the Italian speaking community. In 2008 it was also the venue for the Ethiopian Coptic immigrant community holding a long baptismal celebration.

St.John Baptist

The 19th century chapel of the Grandmasters' Palace, formerly a personal chapel of the Grand Master, was used as an Anglican chapel by the British and later turned into an office for the use of the Governor's secretary. It has a unique Filippo Paladini fresco (badly damaged during the WWII) showing the life of St.John Baptist, and also a beautiful wooden ceiling. This and the fresco were restored in 2006.

St John Baptist

This was a chapel in the Knights' arsenal existent in 1780 but not in 1866 according to A Ferres.

St John Baptist and Holy Cross

These were two chapels in the slaves' prison existent in 1780 but not in 1866 according to A Ferres.

St John Baptist De La Salle

In Palazzo de la Salle, one of the earliest and finest private residences, this chapel was set up in the in the late 16th century. It has the coat-of-arms of Grandmaster Manoel de Vilhena and painted scenes from the life of St John Baptist. It was closed to the public since the early 20th century but some 1730s works of art were recently restored.

St.Joseph - (Archbishop's Palace)

Bishop Baldassar Cagliares built this Oratory in a new palace for his own use. He directed that during Mass in the oratory the celebrant was to offer prayers for the repose of his (the Bishop's) soul.

St.Lucy

The church was probably built in 1570 but rebuilt later by the wine merchants of Valletta. The relics of St.Lucian brought over from the Roman catacombs are venerated in the church.

St.Mary of Jesus Ta' Giezu

Built in the early 1570's by the Friars Minor on the plan of Gerolamo Cassar, the church had its facade changed in 1680 by Mederico Blondel. It contains a painting of Our Lady of Sorrows by Stefano Erardi. It is still run by the Franciscan Friars Minor.

St.Mary Magdalen

This church was built in the early 1590's as the church of the Magdalene nuns adjacent to their monastery later becoming the Civil Hospital chapel. Now a government primary school and exam centre have taken the place of the Monastery / Hospital. Lately it was in a sorry state being used to accommodate the building of carnival floats. It was duly cleaned up and restored. It also has a crypt. Though it has now been used as a concert venue and for other activities, the Dominican friars manage it and celebrate regular liturgy there.

St.Nicholas Tal-Erwieh

This church was built in 1569 by Greek Catholics as their Byzantine Rite parish church. In 1639 the Parish Priest, Papas Giovanni Metaxi, without prejudice to the parochial rights, conceded its use to the Sodality of the Holy Souls, which re-built the church. In fact the church is commonly known by this name nowadays. The church suffered considerable bombing damage during WWII and was repaired by 1951. Nowadays the Serbian Orthodox congregation also uses it.

St.Paul Shipwrecked Parish Collegiate

The first building was raised in 1577 on Gerolamo Cassar plans with funds provided by the Cathedral chapter. During the building of the church the parish priest administered the sacraments from the Carmelite church. The church was rebuilt between 1639 and 1679 and in 1733 it was raised to collegiate status. Lorenzo Gafa designed the internal chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in 1680. The carved wood, painted and guilded figure of St.Paul is the work of Lorenzo's brother, Melchiorre Gafa. 

St.Roque

The church was first built after the plague of 1592, but was later rebuilt in 1675/6.  Lately the Curia has conceded it to the Romanian Orthodox community for 25 years, allowing alterations to make it suitable for the rites of the community. 

St.Ursola Church

The Sisters of the Order of St.John Cloister formed during the time of Grandmaster Verdala have the church of St.Ursola attached to their convent. The church is administered by Franciscan Friars Minor and is open to the public. In the monastery the nuns also have a Chapel built in 1582 where they pray their office in front of the tabernacle. It suffered heavy damage by enemy bombing in WWII but was rebuilt afterwards.

St.George Garrison Church

In 2001 the new premises of the Malta Stock Exchange were officially opened. The building itself had been built between 1854 and 1856 by the British Royal Engineers and designed as a chapel and school for soldiers and their families. The Methodists had withdrawn their Minister from Malta in 1844, and after an interval of twenty-four years, appointed Rev.William Shaw Caldecott to the post. He and his successors officiated at 22 marriages held in the Barracca Chapel from 1868 until the newly built Methodist Church in Floriana was opened in 1883. The Barracca Chapel building was dedicated to St George by the A.C.G. of the west Mediterranean Rev.G.Egerton Chadwick in March 1936 and it became a Garrison church. Nowadays, most of the paintings by Giuseppe Cali' which were in the chapel, are in the Presidential Summer Palace of San Anton.

St.Andrew Scots

A Union of Church of Scotland and Methodist Congregations (Presbyterian, Methodists and other Free Churches) founded the church in 1824 when Rev.John Keeling bought the site on the corner of Old Bakery Street and Melita Street from the Government to built a place of worship for Methodists. St Andrew Church was ready in 1857. It was the first non Roman Catholic Church in Malta. The same building was purchased by the Free Church of Scotland and used for Presbyterian services from then on.

St.George

This is a Greek Orthodox Church at 83 Merchants' Street. Existing registrations of baptisms, marriages and deaths in this church from between 1815 and 1920, are kept at the Mdina Cathedral museum archives. A previous building was destroyed by enemy bombing in WWII.

St.Paul Anglican Cathedral

The cathedral was commissioned in 1838 by Queen Adelaide who during a visit to Malta found out that there was no place for Anglican worship on the island. It was built between 1839 and 1844 on the site of the Auberge of the langue of Germany, which historical building was sadly dismantled. The cathedral we see today is the original, with its prominent 200-foot steeple and its external features in the classical style.

The first Protestant Chapel in Valletta

This chapel was installed in 1840s on the ground floor of the Grandmasters Palace.