The following are the Liturgical Celebrations during Christmas and New Year at St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta:

Kindly note that the Oratory at St John’s Co-Cathedral (where the Caravaggio’s Beheading of St John the Baptist is exhibited) is open for visitors.

The prices will change to €15 for adults, and €12 for seniors and students.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Click here to plan your visit.

The Management

St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation

Kindly note on Monday 12th July 2021 at 9.30 AM, a Mass will be celebrated at St John’s Co-Cathedral in connection with the Police Force Foundation Day. The Cathedral will open for tourists at 10.30AM

We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Click here to plan your visit.

The Management

St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation

Photo: Curia – church.mt

Kindly note that the Oratory at St John’s Co-Cathedral (where the Caravaggio paintings are exhibited) shall be closed for visitors as from Monday, 5th July to Wednesday 21st July due to restoration. The prices will change temporarily to €7.50 per visitor.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Click here to plan your visit.

The Management

St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation

Passers-by in Merchants Street will notice that a tower crane has been erected on the site where the Tapestry Chamber is going to be constructed, together with the spiral staircase and a piston lift that is unique to Malta. Although not much was visible to the public, a large amount of work and intense preparations were being carried out. The Foundation’s consultants AP Valletta and EM Architects are working together to complete this project.

Firstly, geological tests were carried out to ensure the foundations on which the Tapestry Chamber will be built were adequate. To ensure that this will be up to the current standards, the ground will be strengthened with a wall consisting of concrete columns driven into the ground in specific areas. Naturally, many more studies and structural engineering input was necessary. In all, 170 concrete columns will be placed into the foundations that will protect the historical rubble fills that was once a burial ground. Extensive research and investigations were conducted to ensure that no historical material was lost. For the past two years, excavation, all done by hand, was carried out by a group of archaeologists under the supervision of the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (SCH) who have been providing guidance to integrate and protect any findings.

The project of restoring and constructing new areas entails interventions in one of Malta’s most historically important monuments. Continuous discussions are held with the Planning Authority, Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, Valletta Local Council, Transport Malta, and the shop owners’ association in Valletta. Thus, all the decisions taken, and adjustments made to the existing fabric are carried out with utmost care and based on in-depth research and investigations, to ensure sound knowledge of the site. Any changes to the original permit are subject to the approval of the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, the Planning Authority and UNESCO.

The new foundations and the construction of the tapestry chamber and other restoration works are entrusted to AX Construction Ltd and commenced last April. Significant progress has been recorded to date, with the installation of steel reinforcement for the stabilising columns before applying the concrete cast.

As investigations were being carried out, tenders for works on the area to house the Caravaggio Wing were initiated. The ground floor consists of a hall that will exhibit the painting depicting St Jerome by Caravaggio, and the audio-visual space that will project the story of the artist and his stay on the island, and a hall that will project the famous painting by Caravaggio, The Beheading of St John the Baptist. The works have reached completion and the Wing will be opened shortly. The restoration of the crypt below the oratory and the basement spaces will soon commence. Together with the Caravaggio Wing, the rehabilitation of these areas is part-financed by the European Regional and Development Fund.

The aim of the new museum is to utilise the buildings adjacent to the Co-Cathedral to accommodate the artefacts currently kept in storage. The extension works include the rehabilitation of the existing areas within the basement level, the restoration of the Bartolott Crypt, the construction of a new Tapestry Chamber, the Caravaggio Wing and a new entrance/ exit and ticketing area from Merchants Street that will separate the Museum from the Church.

Kindly note that the St John’s Co-Cathedral and Oratory will be closed for visits on:

Maundy Thursday, 1st April and on Good Friday, 2nd April 2021.

The Cathedral will be open for visits on Saturday 3rd April from 9.30am till 14:30 pm (last entry at 14:00pm).

The Management

The St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation

Kindly note that tomorrow Wednesday, 25 November 2020 St John’s Co-Cathedral and Oratory will remain open until 12:30 hrs (last entry at 12:00 hrs) due to a State funeral.

The St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation regrets any inconvenience caused.

As from 20 August 2020 and until further notice the St John’s Co-Cathedral and Oratory shall be opened for visits from 09:30 until 14:30 hrs (last entry at 14:00 hrs) from Monday to Saturday.

Kindly note that as per Legal Notice 325 of 2020 under the Public Health Act (CAP 465) dated 08 August 2020 the maximum number of people inside the co-cathedral shall be limited to 100.

May we kindly remind you that:

• Groups shall be of no more than 15 persons
• Visitors need to wear a mask/visor
• Visitors’ temperature shall be taken at the entrance
• Public toilets shall be kept closed.

The St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation thank you for your support and collaboration.

The St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation has the pleasure to announce the appointment of Mgr. Prof. Emmanuel Agius as its new President.

Mgr. Prof. Agius is the former Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Malta. He studied philosophy and theology at undergraduate (S.Th.B.) and postgraduate (S.Th.L.) levels at the University of Malta and then at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, where he obtained an M.A. in Philosophy and a Doctorate in Sacred Theology (S.Th.D). He is professor of Moral Theology and Philosophical Ethics at the University of Malta.

Mgr. Prof. Agius pursued his post-doctoral research in the field of bioethics at the University of Tübingen, Germany, as a fellow of the Alexander-von-Humboldt Stiftung; at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., as a Fulbright scholar; and at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, U.S.A., with the assistance of a Theodore Hesburgh scholarship.

He is the former Head of the Department of Moral Theology at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Malta; since 2005 a member of the European Group of Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE), which is an advisory interdisciplinary group to the European Commission; and a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

Mgr. Prof. Agius is the author and co-editor of a number of publications. Several of his articles on bioethical, social, and environmental issues, marriage and sexuality have appeared in a number of international peer-reviewed academic journals.

His Grace the Archbishop, Mgr. Charles J. Scicluna, appointed Mgr. Prof. Agius member of the Metropolitan Cathedral Chapter on 25th January 2018 and member of The St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation on 1st August 2019.

The members of St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation are responsible for the administration of St John’s Co-Cathedral, an international treasure and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Foundation administers the church and museum in order to ensure its effective conservation and management as a historic and architectural monument, as well as a sacred place of worship.

This new appointment is effective on 31st July 2020.

Photo by The St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation