Malta Churches

I HAVE BEEN in Malta for half a year and had some time to explore the country. That is not such a hard job because the island is pretty small, but the most striking feature is the people’s catholic faith. 98% of the population is catholic, they say to have 365 churches, one for each day – if you include all the small chapels there are probably even more.

MALTESE PEOPLE somehow practice their religion in their own way, very intimately and passionately, but most of all very honest. Religion has a great influence in Malta, on culture, politics, society and so on. They don’t care about all the discussions and religious affairs, that are happening elsewhere, but keep their own way.

AND IN MALTA one can experience loads of religious traditions, I have never seen elsewhere; from religious street names everywhere and pictures of Saints inserted in the house walls via feasts for the Saints they celebrate in every village, processions and statues up to icons made of rice and sand.

EVERY SUNDAY I saw a different church and during the week maybe one or two more, so still in the end I got only a tiny part of what exists. But simply the huge number of churches and the all-time-presence of Christian faith made me start a small project. Well, not that small, because in the end I had about 200 pictures from 50 different churches. I wanted to take a bit out of every church I visited, but I preferred details, a glance only. Mostly it wasn’t possible or favorable to picture the whole church’s interior or exterior. So I concentrated on parts I liked most or that simply catched my eye. Just like Katie Melua sings “beauty need only be a whisper”.

AFTER LONG TIME of selecting I present you my personal favorite 17 here.