St George's Chapel or the Church of St George the Martyr, is a small

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 located in the village of

Birżebbuġa Birżebbuġa (; sometimes shortened to B'Buġa) is a seaside town in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta, close to Marsaxlokk. It is approximately from the capital Valletta, and has a population of 9,736 as of March 2014. The ...

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

The origins of the chapel are unknown however it is certain that by 1565 the chapel already existed. 10 years later 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 isl ...

during his apostolic visit to Malta from Rome. Dusina writes that the chapel had a wooden door and one altar however it did not have a rector neither an income. A feast was celebrated every April 23 in honour of St George by the Parish Priest of

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 ...

. In 1621, the Bishop of Malta

Baldassare Cagliares Baldassare Cagliares ( 1575 – 4 August 1633) was a Maltese people, Maltese Roman Catholic prelate who was the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta, Bishop of Malta from 1615 until his death. Biography Baldassare Cagliares was born in Valletta ...

visited the chapel and ordered that it be renovated. It was in fact restored by Palmerus Montana. However, by 1659 the chapel was once more abandoned and was subsequently deconsecrated by Bishop

Miguel Juan Balaguer Camarasa Miguel Juan Balaguer de Camarasa also known as Miguel Balaguer or Michele Balaguer (1597 – 5 December 1663) was a Spanish Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Malta from 1635 to 1663. Biography Miguel Juan Balaguer Camarasa was born ...

on April 22, 1659. It was in 1682 that the chapel was once more restored through the initiative of Patrizju Ruman and Gregorio Bonici dei Marchesi Bordino. The chapel was blessed on April 22, 1683, by the parish priest of

. A

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a Fortification, fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on Earthworks (engineering), earthworks, although some are constructed of ston ...

was built around the chapel in 1714–16. By the early 20th century the chapel fell into disuse once more but was restored in 1907. The chapel bears a sign in Latin stating ''NON GODE L’IMMUNITA ECCLESIAS'', meaning that the church did not offer sanctuary to criminal offenders who sought asylum within the church, something common at that time."Sights in Birzebbugia"
''imalta''. Retrieved on 16 February 2017.

Interior

The chapel has one altar and a painting by an unknown artist depicting St George on his horse slaying the dragon. It is a copy of the one

Mattia Preti Mattia Preti (24 February 1613 – 3 January 1699) was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Saint John. Life Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was called ''Il Ca ...

painted for

St John's Co-Cathedral St John's Co-Cathedral () is a Catholic co-cathedral in Valletta, Malta, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. It was built by the Order of St. John between 1573 and 1578, having been commissioned by Grand Master Jean de la Cassière as the Conv ...

References

{{reflist * * * * 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta Birżebbuġa National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands