Pjazza San Pawl, Mdina, Malta
Cathedral of St. Paul (Mdina)
The Baroque cathedral in Malta's ancient walled capital, built on the traditional site where the Apostle Paul met the Roman governor Publius after his shipwreck in 60 AD.
According to the Acts of the Apostles, Paul was shipwrecked on Malta around 60 AD while being transported to Rome as a prisoner. The local chief, Publius, received him and Paul healed Publius's father of a fever. Tradition holds that the meeting took place on this spot in what was then the island's capital. A church has stood here since at least the fourth century, and the current cathedral was built between 1697 and 1702 by the Maltese architect Lorenzo Gafa after an earthquake destroyed the medieval original. Gafa designed a restrained Baroque building — handsome rather than showy, with a dome visible from much of the island. Inside, the marble floor is covered with the inlaid tombstones of bishops and nobles, each one a work of art in colored stone. The apse fresco by Mattia Preti, the Calabrian painter who spent his last decades in Malta, shows the shipwreck of St. Paul. Mdina itself — the "Silent City" — is a walled town of narrow streets and honey-colored limestone that has been the ecclesiastical center of Malta for over a thousand years. Fewer than three hundred people live inside the walls, and after the tour groups leave in the evening, the silence is real.
Diocese: Archdiocese of Malta
Style: Baroque
What to See
The tombstones on the floor are the first thing you notice — do not walk over them without looking down, because the marble inlay work is extraordinary, depicting coats of arms, skulls, and Latin inscriptions in vivid colored stone. The apse fresco by Preti fills the half-dome with the drama of Paul's shipwreck, painted with dark Caravaggesque shadows. The wooden choir stalls are carved with scenes from the life of Paul. A cathedral museum in the adjacent building holds silver, vestments, Dürer woodcuts, and medieval documents. Outside, walk the walls of Mdina for views across the island and look back at Gafa's dome against the sky.
Pilgrim Notes
Mdina is in the center of the island, reachable by bus from Valletta in about thirty minutes. Cars are restricted inside the walls, so park outside and walk in through the main gate. The cathedral is open daily and charges a small admission fee that includes the museum. Mass is offered in Maltese. Visit in the late afternoon when the tour groups thin out and the golden limestone glows in the low sun. The nearby Church of St. Paul's Grotto in Rabat, just outside the Mdina walls, marks the cave where Paul supposedly lived during his three months on the island and makes a natural companion visit.