St Clement's Chapel is a 17th-century

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 in

Żejtun Żejtun ( ) is a town in the Southern Region of Malta, with a population of 11,218 at the end of 2016. Żejtun is traditionally known as Città Beland, a title conferred by the grandmaster of the Order of the Knights of Malta, Ferdinand von ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

History

This chapel was built as a thanksgiving for a vow of a certain village local.

Clemente Tabone Clemente Tabone (, 1575 – 11 March 1665) was a Maltese people, Maltese landowner and militia member who is known for his reported courage in the Raid on Żejtun, the last major Ottoman attack on Malta, in 1614. He built a tower and a chapel on ...

had vowed that should his life be spared from the invading piracy headed by the Turkish army who constantly attacked Malta during the 17th century, he would build a chapel in honor of St Clement to whom he prayed. The chapel was built in 1658. Tabone was also responsible for equipping the chapel with all items needed to celebrate services and for the celebration of the feast of St Clement every 23 November with vespers and mass. Tabone was also responsible for lighting the oil lamp in the chapel in commemoration of his late wife Dorothy Cumbo and for the celebration of two masses every week.Spiteri, Mikiel (2000). ''A Hundred Wayside Chapels of Malta & Gozo'', pp.238–239. Heritage Books, Valletta. .

Interior

The titular painting, the work of

Stefano Erardi Stefano Erardi (1630–1716) was a Maltese painter whose works may be found in many churches around the Maltese Islands. His style has been described as either late Mannerist or Baroque. Biography Erardi was born in Valletta in 1630 to Sebasti ...

, depicts its founder Clemente Tabone, whose head and prayerful hands can be spotted in the bottom left corner. The painting depicts Pope Clement I, the Blessed Virgin and the child Jesus with several angles. The painting dates from 1662. Another notable painting, by

Francesco Zahra Francesco Vincenzo Zahra (, 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 well as in some pri ...

, depicts the

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Mary (mother of Jesus), Blessed Virgin Mary cradling the mortal body of Jesus Christ after his Descent from the Cross. It is most often found in sculpture. ...

References

{{reflist 1658 establishments in Malta Żejtun National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Limestone churches in Malta Roman Catholic churches completed in 1658 Roman Catholic chapels in Malta 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta