Fr Hermann Duncan, O.Carm, looks at how the devotion to St Paul spread in the Maltese islands and lists the churches and chapels dedicated to the saint

The Acts of the Apostles relates the account of St Paul and his shipwreck on Malta, which took place around AD60. According to tradition, Paul took shelter in a grotto in Rabat. It is said that the first Christian community was founded here, and it is here that the Pauline cult started. Over the years this grotto attracted many visitors and distinct people, among them Pope St John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

At first, the cult of St Paul took long to spread in the Maltese islands due to the fact that many Maltese kept on worshipping pagan gods and because they feared the Romans who were persecuting the Christians.

It was in the 17th century that the devotion began to become widespread – when the Spanish hermit Juan Venegas de Córdoba, after visiting St Paul’s grotto, began to revive the Pauline cult at the grotto.

In 1617, Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt assumed the guardianship of the grotto. It was beneficial for the Order to have a connection with St Paul, who along with St John was considered one of the patrons of the Order.

Wignacourt established a college for chaplains to look after the grotto and appointed Venegas as the rector. Venegas made it his lifelong mission to promote the devotion towards St Paul and the grotto.

Paul became an important model for the Church, particularly as a missionary and teacher. Under the patronage of the Sovereign Military Order of St John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta, the Pauline cult centred on the grotto grew in significance.

Today, we find numerous paintings and sculptures on the islands commemorating Paul and his shipwreck, not to mention at least 20 churches and chapels dedicated to him, including the Anglican Cathedral in Valletta.

In the northern part of Malta, there are many sites named after St Paul where he is said to have once set foot.

Paul became an important model for the Church, particularly as a missionary and teacher

The rocks and reefs in the area known as Tal-Għażżenin off St Paul’s Bay are traditionally thought to be those upon which St Paul’s ship ran aground during the tempest. Tal-Għażżenin is derived from the Greek Thalassanejn meaning ‘two seas’.

A group of islands on the northern side of St Paul’s Bay are dedicated to St Paul. In the same area, there is a place known as Għajn Rasul, meaning Apostle’s Spring, where according to legend, the Apostle made water come forth in order to provide for the thirsty survivors from aboard the shipwreck.

St Paul collegiate parish church in Rabat was built to the left of St Paul’s Grotto.

Another site known as San Pawl tal-Ħġejjeġ is where it is believed a bonfire was lit to keep the stranded survivors warm after the wreck and where St Paul was bitten by a snake which left him unharmed. The Miracle of the Viper Chapel is located here.

Churches dedicated to St Paul

In Burmarrad, close to where it is traditionally believed that St Paul was shipwrecked, there is a small chapel known as San Pawl Milqi. Here Paul is said to have converted Publius to Christianity after healing his father from dysentery.

In Mdina, on the main entrance gate, the sculpted figures (1724) of St Paul, St Publius and St Agatha, protectors of Malta, can be found. The Cathedral dedicated to St Paul is traditionally said to have been built on the site of Publius’s palace. The church houses a beautiful titular painting of the Conversion of St Paul, above which is a fresco of the Shipwreck of St Paul, both painted by Mattia Preti (1613-1699).

St Paul’s collegiate parish church in Rabat was built to the left of St Paul’s Grotto.

There are also catacombs that lead to this grotto, known as St Paul’s Catacombs.

St Paul’s Shipwreck collegiate parish church in Valletta is one of the oldest churches in the capital city, boasting many beautiful works of art, evidencing the great devotion to St Paul. Housed in the church is the treasured relic of a fragment of St Paul’s wrist bone donated in 1823 by Vincenzo Aloisio Bonavia.

The Safi parish church, dedicated to the Conversion of St Paul, dates back to 1726. It was built on the site where a smaller church dedicated to St Paul, originating back to the early 15th century, once stood.

Another church dedicated to St Paul overlooks Dock One in Cospicua. According to historian Achille Ferres, the first church dedicated to St Paul was built in 1590. The foundation stone was laid on August 11, 1735, for the rebuilding of the church by Bishop Paolo Alferan de Bussan.

In a place known as San Pawl tal-Wied in Birkirkara, there is a church dedicated to St Paul which was built in 1538 to commemorate the days St Paul spent preaching on the island.

In the locality of San Pawl tat-Tarġa, there is a chapel dedicated to St Paul’s shipwreck and a statue of St Paul. According to legend this was one of the places where St Paul preached to the Maltese.

There are many churches dedicated to St Paul in Gozo. One such example is the Munxar parish church dedicated to St Paul’s shipwreck, with the titular painting by artist Robert Caruana Dingli (1882-1940).

Another church dedicated to St Paul’s shipwreck is located in Marsalforn. According to tradition, three months after the shipwreck, St Paul left the island from this small port which is claimed to be the closest port to Pozzallo, Sicily.

The parish church in Nadur is a collegiate basilica dedicated to St Peter and St Paul. The original church was built by parishioners on land donated by Grand Master Fra Gregorio Carafa (1680-1690).

The foundation stone of the present day church built on the design of the Maltese architect Giuseppe Bonnici was laid in December 1760.