The Chapel of St Martin 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 in the rural village of

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

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 isl ...

'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 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 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 prelate who was Bishop of Malta from 1678 to 1682 when he was transferred to the Diocese of Lleida in Catalonia, Spain. Early years Molina was born in Fort ...

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 (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third French Republic, Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hung ...

St James the Greater James the Great ( Koinē Greek: Ἰάκωβος, romanized: ''Iákōbos''; Aramaic: ܝܥܩܘܒ, romanized: ''Yaʿqōḇ''; died AD 44) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was the second of the apostles t ...

and

St Philip Neri Saint Philip Neri , born Filippo Romolo Neri, (22 July 151526 May 1595) was an Italian Catholic priest who founded the Congregation of the Oratory, a society of secular clergy dedicated to pastoral care and charitable work. He is sometimes refe ...

. It dates from 1735 and is the work of

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 ...

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