The Church of the Immaculate Conception is a wayside

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church located in what is known as Wied Gerżuma or Gerżuma valley, limits of

Rabat, Malta Rabat ( ) is a town in the Western Region of Malta, with a population of 11,497 as of March 2014. It adjoins the ancient capital city of Mdina, and a north-western area formed part of the Roman city of Melite until its medieval retrenchment. ...

History

The chapel originated in 1736 on lands owned by the Fondazione Paola which was a foundation that supported the building of sailing boats for the knights. The chapel was founded by Grand master

António Manoel de Vilhena António Manoel de Vilhena (28 May 1663 – 10 December 1736) was a Portuguese nobleman who was the 66th Prince and Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem from 19 June 1722 to his death in 1736. Unlike a number of the other Grand ...

. Near the chapel is an arch on which is the coat of arms of

Antoine de Paule Fra' Antoine de Paule (c. 1551 – 9 June 1636) was elected the 56th Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller (the Order of Malta) on 10 March 1623. He died on Malta thirteen years later, on 9 June 1636, after a long illness and at the age of 85. ...

, the Grand master who founded the Fondazione Paola and an inscription. The chapel was blessed by Fra Giuseppe Ruggier, the chaplain of the order, representing the grand prior of St John's Conventional church in

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

. Since the church was the property of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

, the property was inherited by the subsequent governments that governed Malta after the expulsion of the order from Malta in 1798. In fact, the chapel is still the property of the state. "Rabat"
''Malta-Canada''. Retrieved on 28 October 2017.

Interior

The chapel has one altar. Above it stands the painting depicting the Immaculate Conception, St Joseph, St Paul, St John the Baptist and St Anthony of Padoua.

References

{{Subject bar , portal1= Catholicism , portal2= Malta Roman Catholic churches completed in 1736 Rabat, Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Roman Catholic chapels in Malta 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta

History

Interior

See also

References