St. Paul’s Bay marks the traditional site of the Apostle’s shipwreck, described in the Acts of the Apostles: ‘we found that the island was called Malta’ (Acts 28:1). A small island just offshore, along with a chapel dedicated to the shipwreck, commemorates the dramatic event that first brought Christianity to Malta’s shores. A prominent statue
In the town of Rabat, tradition holds that St. Paul lived and preached for three months following his shipwreck, taking shelter in what is now known as St. Paul’s Grotto. The Basilica of St. Paul was later built above this grotto, and the site remains one of the most significant places associated with the Apostle’s
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Teatro Massimo is the largest opera house in Italy and among the largest in Europe. Construction began in 1875 under architect Giovan Battista Filippo Basile and was completed by his son Ernesto after his father’s death, finally opening to the public in 1897. On a walking tour of Palermo, pilgrims often pause here to admire
St. John’s Co-Cathedral was built in the late 16th century by the Order of St. John, the Knights Hospitaller who once ruled Malta. Dedicated to St. John the Baptist, the cathedral served as the conventual church of the Knights, and you can still find tokens of their presence etched into its very stones. Malta pilgrimages
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The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mellieha is Malta’s oldest Marian shrine, built over a cave grotto in the northern part of the island. According to tradition, St. Paul and his companions worshipped in this very cave following his shipwreck, making it one of the earliest sites of Christian devotion on Malta, dating back to
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Dedicated to Santa Maria la Nuova, this exquisite cathedral was built in the 12th century by order of King William II of Sicily. It stands as one of the greatest surviving examples of Norman architecture in Sicily and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The cathedral’s interior walls are covered in bright golden mosaics depicting scenes
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The Jesuit Church of the Gesù, also known as Santa Maria di Gesù or Casa Professa, was built shortly after the Jesuits arrived in Palermo in 1549. Construction began in the late 16th century based on a design by the Jesuit architect Giovanni Tristano, adjacent to the order’s professed house. True to St. Ignatius’s teaching
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The Cathedral of Siracusa, dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, stands on the island of Ortigia, the cultural and historical heart of the city. The cathedral was built directly over the remains of an ancient Greek temple to Athena, its columns still visible incorporated into the structure’s walls. This layering of Greek, Roman,
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The Catacombs of St. John in Siracusa contain some 20,000 early Christian tombs, making them one of the most extensive underground burial sites in Sicily. Tradition holds that St. Paul preached here during his brief stay in Siracusa on his final journey to Rome, as recorded in Acts 28:11-13. Within the catacombs, a small chapel
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Originally built as a church for sailors and dedicated to Our Lady of Safe Haven, the Basilica of St. Dominic has long served as a place of refuge and thanksgiving for those who survived dangerous sea voyages. Given St. Paul’s own shipwreck on Malta’s shores, it is a fitting site for the opening Mass of
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