Collegiate of St Paul | |
---|---|
The Collegiate Matrix Parish church of Saint Paul | |
Il-Knisja Kolleġġjata Arċipretali u Matriċi ta' San Pawl | |
35°53′51″N14°30′50″E / 35.89740°N 14.51386°E | |
Location | Valletta, Malta |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
History | |
Status | Active |
Founded | 1570 |
Dedication | Saint Paul |
Dedicated | 15 May |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Collegiate church Parish church |
Architectural type | Church |
Style | Baroque |
Specifications | |
Number of spires | 2 |
Bells | 7 |
Administration | |
Archdiocese | Malta |
Parish | Valletta |
Clergy | |
Archpriest | Alex Cordina |
The Collegiate Parish Church of St Paul's Shipwreck, also known as simply the Church of St Paul's Shipwreck, is a Roman Catholic parish church in Valletta, Malta. It is one of Valletta's oldest churches. [1]
Saint Paul the Apostle is considered the spiritual father of the Maltese. His shipwreck on Malta is described in the New Testament (Acts 28, 1). St. Luke wrote, "we found that the island was called Melita". [2] : V
The church traces its origins to 1570s, was designed by Girolamo Cassar, and completed in December 1582. The church was ceded to the Jesuit Fathers and a new church was started in 1639. The church's facade was rebuilt in 1885 according to the design of Nicholas Zammit. [2] : 6
The church building is listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. [3]
In 2024, the church building was featured in Season 28 of ABC's The Bachelor when Bachelor Joey and contestant Lexi visited the church during a date. [4]
The church hosts fine artistic works, including the magnificent altarpiece by Matteo Perez d'Aleccio, the paintings by Attilio Palombi, and Giuseppe Calì. [2] : 8, 15, 35 The wooden titular statue of St Paul was carved in 1659 by Melchiorre Cafà, the brother of Lorenzo Gafà who designed the dome. [2] : 42, 18 The statue is paraded through the streets of Valletta on the feast day of St Paul's Shipwreck, February 10. [1] [5] One can also view the relic of the right wrist-bone of St Paul, and part of the column from San Paolo alle Tre Fontane, on which the saint was beheaded in Rome. [2] : 38, 60
Gudja is a village in the Southern Region of Malta, with a population of 3,148 as of March 2017. The village is located on high grounds, south of Valletta. It is administered by the Gudja Local Council. A number of schools, clubs, public gardens and recreations places are found around the village.
The Our Lady of Victory Church, formerly known as the Saint Anthony the Abbot Church, was the first church and building completed in Valletta, Malta. In 1566, following the Great Siege of Malta, Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette and his Order showed interest to build a church in the name of the Nativity of the Virgin as a form of thanksgiving; the construction was funded by De Valette.
St Paul's Pro-Cathedral, officially The Pro-Cathedral and Collegiate Church of Saint Paul, is an Anglican pro-cathedral of the Diocese in Europe situated in Independence Square, Valletta, Malta. A "pro-cathedral" is a church with cathedral status though not being the main cathedral. It is one of three cathedrals of the Anglican Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe.
St Augustine Church is one of the churches built during the creation of the new city of Valletta, Malta.
St. George's Basilica or the Basilica and Collegiate Parish Church of Saint George, also simply known as San Ġorġ in Maltese, is a historic Baroque church situated in the middle of Gozo, the second largest island in the Maltese archipelago, and is surrounded by a maze of old narrow streets and alleys. Today's basilica was built between 1672 and 1678.
The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Paul, commonly known as St Paul's Cathedral or the Mdina Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral in Mdina, Malta, dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle. The cathedral was founded in the 12th century, and according to tradition it stands on the site of where Roman governor Publius met St. Paul following his shipwreck on Malta. The original cathedral was severely damaged in the 1693 Sicily earthquake, so it was dismantled and rebuilt in the Baroque style to a design of the Maltese architect Lorenzo Gafà between 1696 and 1705. The cathedral is regarded as Gafà's masterpiece.
The Basilica of the Nativity of Mary or Basilica of Our Lady of Victories is a Roman Catholic parish church located at Senglea, Malta. It is dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.
The Collegiate church of Saint Lawrence is an old Church situated in Birgu in Malta.
The Church of St Nicholas is the Roman Catholic parish church of Siġġiewi, Malta, dedicated to Nicholas of Bari. It was built in the late 17th century and it took over the function of an older parish church which was located elsewhere in the village and which now lies in ruins.
The Church of Saint Nicholas, also known as the Church of All Souls, is a Greek Catholic church in Valletta, Malta, dedicated to Saint Nicholas. Originally built as a Greek Orthodox church in 1569, it was conceded to the Confraternity of the Souls in Purgatory in 1639, who rebuilt the church in the Baroque style in 1652. The church was passed back to the Greek Catholic congregation in 2014 however the church is used from Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
The Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a Carmelite Roman Catholic minor basilica dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, located in Valletta, Malta. It is one of the major churches of Valletta, and it forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site which includes the entire city. The present church was constructed between 1958 and 1981 on the site of a late 16th century church which was destroyed during World War II.
The Church of St Barbara is a Roman Catholic church situated in Valletta, Malta. The church was built to service the spiritual needs of the knights of Provence.
The Church of St Lucy is a small Roman Catholic church situated in Valletta, Malta. The church was built in 1570 and features a titular painting above the high altar and the corpse of St Lucian, the martyr.
The Church of St Catherine is a Roman Catholic parish church that serves the village of Żurrieq.
The Parish Church of St Andrew is a Roman Catholic parish church located in Luqa, Malta.
The Saint Publius Parish Church, also known as the Floriana Parish Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in Floriana, Malta, dedicated to Saint Publius. It was constructed at several stages between the 18th and 20th centuries.
Vincenzo Dimech was a Maltese sculptor. He is best known for his religious sculptures, which include the titular statues of Gudja and Floriana. He also sculpted monuments or architectural features in Valletta and Corfu.
The Old Church of St Sebastian, commonly known as il-knisja ż-żgħira, is a Roman Catholic church in Qormi, Malta, dedicated to Saint Sebastian. It was built between 1880 and 1890 near a statue of the saint which had been erected in 1815 to commemorate deliverance from a plague epidemic in 1813. It was a parish church between 1935 and the 1980s, when a larger parish church with the same dedication was built nearby. The building was only formally consecrated in 2019, and it is now used as an adoration chapel.
The Church of Our Lady of Sorrows is a Roman Catholic church in Pietà, Malta. It was established in the late 16th or early 17th century near a cemetery in which victims of the 1592–1593 Malta plague epidemic were buried. It was originally dedicated to Saint Roch, but after a convent was built next to it in the early 17th century it was rededicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. The church later gave its name to the town of Pietà which developed nearby, and the present building dates back to the mid-18th century when it was reconstructed. Both the church and the convent are currently in the hands of a Catholic youth ministry.
Francesco Buonamici (1596–1677) was an Italian Baroque architect, painter and engraver who was active in Lucca, Malta, Sicily and Rome during the 17th century. He played a significant role in the introduction of Baroque in Malta.