The Chapel of St Martin is a small

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 in the rural village of

Baħrija Baħrija is a village in Rabat, Malta, with a low population density. The name Baħrija means ''moth'' in Maltese. It is also known in English as Baħria, of which the Counts Moscati had owned the fiefdom that was granted by the Grand Master of M ...

in Malta.

History

The original chapel was founded in the 15th century. It was mentioned in 1575 in 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 ...

's report of his apostolic visit to Malta. Dusina mentions that the church lacked all means to use for the celebration of mass and that mass was only celebrated once a year. Dusina ordered the restoration of the chapel's door and ordered the parish priest of St Paul's Collegiate church in Rabat to encourage locals to care for the chapel. Years later, when Bishop

Baldassare Cagliares Baldassare Cagliares ( 1575 – 4 August 1633) was a Maltese Roman Catholic prelate who was the Bishop of Malta from 1615 until his death. Biography Baldassare Cagliares was born in Valletta in around 1575; this year is approximate and the exa ...

visited the chapel in 1615 he found that Dusina's instructions were ignored and consequently deconsecrated the chapel. In 1643, agreements were drawn to celebrate vespers on the eve of the feast of St Martin and mass on the feast day. In 1684, 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 chapel and mentions that mass was celebrated on Sundays and feast days. Around the same year the chapel was rebuilt through initiatives of Cumbo Navarra.Brincat, J
"Il-knisja l-antika ta’ San Martin ~ Baħrija, limiti tar-Rabat ~"
''Kappelli Maltin''. Malta. Retrieved on 28 June 2017. The chapel was used frequently by the locals until a new larger church was built nearby. The chapel was recently extensively restored and is mostly used for perpetual adoration.

Interior

The chapel includes one altar and a painting depicting

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 November 397), also known as Martin the Merciful, was the third bishop of Tours. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as the ...

St James the Greater James the Great, also known as James, son of Zebedee, Saint James the Great, Saint James the Greater, Saint James the Elder, or Saint Jacob (Aramaic ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܙܒܕܝ, Arabic يعقوب, Hebrew בן זבדי , '' Yaʿăqōḇ'', Latin '' ...

and

St Philip Neri Philip Romolo Neri ( ; it, italics=no, Filippo Romolo Neri, ; 22 July 151526 May 1595), known as the "Second Apostle of Rome", after Saint Peter, was an Italian priest noted for founding a society of secular clergy called the Congregation of th ...

. It dates from 1735 and is the work of

Francesco Zahra Francesco Vincenzo Zahra ( mt, Franġisk Żahra, 15 December 1710 – 19 August 1773) was a Maltese painter who mainly painted religious works in the Neapolitan Baroque style. His works may be found in many churches around the Maltese Islands, as ...

References

{{reflist 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta Rabat, Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Roman Catholic chapels in Malta