St Catherine's Chapel, Mqabba

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St Catherine's Chapel, Mqabba (Church of St Catherine and St Peter)

St Catherine's Chapel is an 18th-century Roman Catholic church in Mqabba, Malta. The exact origins are unclear. It is mentioned by inquisitor Pietro Dusina during his 1575 visit to Malta, who noted a chapel built around 1550 beside an older one. At that time it had one altar and an icon showing Our Lady with St Catherine and St Peter. In 1598, Bishop Tommaso Gargallo found the chapel in good condition with the needed liturgical items. A 1634 record describes an altar, wooden candlesticks, a cross, and an icon of Our Lady with St Catherine and St Andrew, suggesting a different icon from the 1575 one.

By 1759 the chapel was in danger of collapsing. It was decided to demolish it along with nearby St Peter's chapel, but instead a single church was built. The cornerstone was blessed in 1764 by the parish priest Mikiel Giocomo Tortella. The church was completed in 1774 and consecrated on Easter Sunday by the same priest. It is dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria and St Peter.

Architecturally, the exterior is square while the interior is circular, and a Baroque dome was added. The building has one door with a large window above it, and a bell tower was added later.

Before World War II the church was used regularly, but afterward it served as storage for liturgical items. It was restored in 2004.

Inside, there is a stone altar painted to look like marble. The main painting above the altar shows St Catherine and is dated 1776; the artist is unknown. In the bottom left corner are the letters V.F.G.A. (Votum Fecerunt Gratiam Acceperunt), meaning “Make a vow and the grace receive.”