Church of St Lucy, Valletta

Church of St Lucy
Church of St Lucy
Knisja ta' Santa Luċija ta' Sirakuża
	Church of St Lucy
	35°53′47.2″N 14°30′51.6″E / 35.896444°N 14.514333°E
Location	Valletta
Country	Malta
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Status	Active
Founded	1570
Dedication	Saint Lucy
Architecture
Functional status	Church
Style	Baroque
Administration
Archdiocese	Malta
Clergy
Rector	Joseph Grech Cremona

The Church of St Lucy is a small Roman Catholic church situated in Valletta, Malta. The church was built in 1570 and features a titular painting above the high altar and the corpse of St Lucian, the martyr.

History

The church of St Lucy was built in 1570, four years after the construction of the city of Valletta began. It was originally dedicated to St Francis of Paola, a statue of whom is on the corner of St Lucy's street just opposite the church. The first Dominicans who went to Valletta from Birgu first administered the sacraments from this church before their church was constructed. The church was rebuilt with money paid by the wine merchants of Valletta.^[1] After the church was rebuilt, it was dedicated to Saint Lucy and Saint Vincent Ferrer.^{[citation needed]}

The church building is listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.^[2]

Works of art

The titular painting on top of the high altar depicts the Immaculate Conception with Saint Paul, Saint Lucy, Saint Vincent Ferrer and Saint Clare. Beneath the high altar one can find the corpse of St Lucian the Martyr brought from the cemetery of Priscilla in Rome.^[3] The side altar are dedicated to St Francis of Paola and St Paschal Baylon.

Feast day

The feast of Saint Lucy is celebrated every year from 1 December and ends on the liturgical feast of the saint on 13 December.

References

^ "Valletta (St. Paul)". thechurchinmalta.org. Archdiocese of Malta. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
^ "Church of St. Lucy" (PDF). National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. 27 August 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
^ Scerri, John. "Valletta". Malta-Canada.com. Retrieved 4 November 2014.