The Church of St Barbara ( mt, Knisja ta' Santa Barbara, german: Kirche Sankt Barbara, french: Église Sainte-Barbara) is a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
church situated in
Valletta
Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...
,
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. The church was built to service the spiritual needs of the knights of
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
.
History
The original church was built in 1573 for the Provence Langue of the Order, it was the church of the bombardiers. It was restored in 1601 and completely rebuilt in 1739. The exterior of the new Church of St Barbara was designed by the Italian architect
Romano Carapecchia. The interior was designed by the Maltese architect
Giuseppe Bonici
Giuseppe Bonici (1707–1779) was a Maltese architect and military engineer. He held the post of ''Capomastro delle Opere della Religione'' and was the principal architect of the Order of St. John from 1761 until his death. He designed several ...
as Carapecchia died before the church was completed.
The church building is listed on the
.
Architecture
The church was built in the baroque style. In the centre of the façade, just above the door, one can see a large gilded statue of the
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception.
It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...
. It was erected in 1904 to commemorate the jubilee of the Immaculate Conception. Internally, the church is centrally planned, having an oval dome typical of the baroque period and which is a very rare feature in local churches.
Present day
Today the church serves as the parish church for the English, French and German speaking communities. It is the only church in
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
that has services celebrated in the German and French language respectively. Also a mass in
Tagalog is celebrated every Sunday.
"Church dedicated to St Barbara"
''Archdiocese of Malta''. Retrieved on 04 November 2014.
See also
*Culture of Malta
The culture of Malta reflects various societies that have come into contact with the Maltese Islands throughout the centuries, including neighbouring Mediterranean cultures, and the cultures of the nations that ruled Malta for long periods of ti ...
* History of Malta
* List of churches in Malta
*Religion in Malta
The Catholic branch of Christianity is the predominant religion in Malta. The Constitution of Malta establishes Catholicism as the state religion, and it is also reflected in various elements of Maltese culture; however, in recent years the ...
References
{{Valletta
1570 establishments in Malta
Roman Catholic churches in Malta
Buildings and structures in Valletta
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
Church buildings of the Knights Hospitaller