St Basil's Chapel 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 lette ...

medieval church located in

Mqabba Mqabba ( mt, L-Imqabba) is a town in the Southern Region of Malta. It has a traditional Maltese village layout, with a population of about 3,300 inhabitants. The focal point is the Parish Church of the Assumption, found at the core of the villag ...

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 ...

. It is the only church building in Malta dedicated to St Basil the Great.

History

This chapel was built in 1486 however it was enlarged three times. The present size of the chapel was completed by 1515, commemorated by the inscription of the date on the main painting of the chapel. In 1575 the chapel was visited by inquisitor

Pietro Dusina Pietro Dusina was an Italian Roman Catholic priest from Brescia who was the inquisitor and apostolic delegate to Malta between 1574 and 1575. Dusina was nominated inquisitor of Malta by Pope Gregory XIII on 3 July 1574, and he arrived on the island ...

on his apostolic visit to Malta who reported that it was the biggest church in

and that it had an altar, a main painting and wooden doors. In 1598, the church served as the parish church of Mqabba and was temporary renamed as St Mary's. In 1680 Bishop

Miguel Jerónimo de Molina Miguel Jerónimo de Molina y Aragonés (7 October 1638 – 31 August 1698) was a Spanish people, Spanish prelate who served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta, Bishop of Malta from 1678 till 1682 when he was transferred to the Roman Catholic Di ...

visited the church and commented that the church was important to the local people and that it was the main church of the village. In the plague epidemic of 1676, victims of the disease were buried both in and outside the church in the yard in front of the church which today is covered in concrete. During World War II as a result of the bombing of the parish church of the Assumption of Mqabba, the church of St Basil, once more, became the parish church of Mqabba. The church was restored in 2007.

Interior

The chapel's interior consists of a number of pointed arches, typical to medieval church architecture. The painting above the high altar dates to 1677 however it lacks any artistic value. It depicts God the Father,

St Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

, Mary with Jesus, and the poor souls together with

St Basil Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great ( grc, Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, ''Hágios Basíleios ho Mégas''; cop, Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ; 330 – January 1 or 2, 379), was a bishop of Ca ...

and

Saint Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked a ...

. The year 1515 is inscribed on the painting commemorating the blessing of the church. There is also one altar.Farrugia, Johnathan
"Il-Knisja ta’ San Bażilju ~ Imqabba ~"
''Kappelli Maltin''. Retrieved on 18 September 2016.

References

{{reflist 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta Medieval Maltese architecture Roman Catholic chapels in Malta Medieval churches Mqabba National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands