The Chapel of St Lucy 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 ...

16th century The 16th century begins with the Julian year 1501 ( MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian year 1600 ( MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar introduced a lapse of 10 days in October 1582). The 16th cent ...

chapel located in the outskirts of the village of

Għaxaq Għaxaq ( mt, Ħal Għaxaq, ) is a village in the Southern Region of Malta, with a population of 4,722 people as of March 2014. It is mainly a residential area surrounded by land used for agricultural purposes. The village's name is probably re ...

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 ...

. In Maltese, the chapel is known as Santa Luċija tal-Barrani.

History

The chapel was built in 1535 on land owned by the Cathedral chapter through the initiatives of Paolo Pellegrino. In return an honorary canon of the cathedral was obliged to bear the expenses for the celebration of the feast of the saint and to provide alms for the poor on the feast day, a custom that persisted until

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The expenses for the construction of the church were seen to by the cathedral chapter with the chapel being administered by the cathedral

Precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

. After

the chapel was neglected and disused. It was only recently that the chapel was restored and used for worship.

Interior

The chapel has one altar and a painting depicting

Saint Lucy Lucia of Syracuse (283–304), also called Saint Lucia ( la, Sancta Lucia) better known as Saint Lucy, was a Roman Christian martyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ...

and the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

. The chapel's interior consists of 3 pointed arches that support the walls and roof, typical of medieval architecture in Malta. Rizzo Naudi, Mari
"Il-kappella ta’ Santa Luċija ~ Tal-Barrani, l/o Ħal Għaxaq ~"
''Kappelli Maltin''. Retrieved on 21 October 2017.

References

{{reflist Roman Catholic chapels in Malta Churches completed in 1535 Għaxaq National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands