Religion

Home to those early defenders of Christendom, the Hospitaller Knights of St John, the Islands are rich in religious history. The Maltese Islanders are among the oldest Christian peoples in the world. St Paul, shipwrecked as a captive on route to Rome in A.D. 60, brought Christianity to Malta. Retrace his steps in the shrines, grottos and catacombs of Rabat and in the ancient capital Mdina. Today, the life of the Islands is greatly influenced by the religious calendar. Malta is famed for its lively, summer festas in honour of each parish’s patron saint. Christmas and Easter are equally special times to visit.

  

       
    There are some 365 churches on the Islands. Even the smallest village can be home to the largest of parish churches. Each has its votive statues, art and religious treasures. St John’s Co-Cathedral in the capital Valletta is a historical and architectural masterpiece of the renaissance and the baroque. Home to two of Caravaggio's most impressive work "St. Jerome" and "The Beheading of St. John the Baptist", the cathedral alone is worth a visit to Malta. Perhaps most intriguing of all religious sites are the small, wayside chapels. Some are excavated in the rock; others cling to cliffs. All are places of quiet contemplation.