The Church of the Immaculate Conception is a wayside

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 ...

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

Rabat, Malta Rabat ( mt, Ir-Rabat, ) is a town in the Northern 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 medieva ...

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 Ma ...

. 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 (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

. 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 ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

, 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