Church of St Paul's Shipwreck
In the year AD 60 St Paul experienced is providential shipwreck to Malta and his narrative in Acts 27 and 28 of the New Testament gave Malta a permanent place in history and the history of Christianity.
Although the church was erected in the sixteenth century, it has a modern fa'ade, built in the nineteenth century. It has an impressive interior and a number of items related to St Paul, among others, a relic consisting of a wrist bone of his right wrist, placed in a gilded reliquary in the form of his hand.
A gilded statue of St Paul is carried in procession through the streets of Valletta on the feast day of this patron saint, 10th February. There is also a part of the column on which he was allegedly beheaded in Rome.
Based on a design by Girolamo Cassar the church was built in the period 1570 - 1582. In 1639 the church was transferred to the Jesuit Fathers. The facade was rebuilt in 1885 based on a design by medical doctor, architect and artistic designer Nicola Zammit.
| Holy Masses | Sunday and feast Days: 8:00, 10:30, 12:00 and 18:00 Monday to Saturday: 8:00, 9:00, 18:30 (On Saturday 18:30 is 18:00) |
Additional information
It is a beautiful baroque church with many details.
The Refined altarpiece by Matteo Perez d'Aleccio, the paintings by Attilio Palombi, and Giuseppe Calì.
The wooden titular statue of St Paul was carved in 1659 by Melchiorre Cafà (brother of).
The statue is paraded through the streets of Valletta on the feast day of St Paul’s Shipwreck.