Christianity has almost 2000 years of history in Malta. According to tradition, it was brought to the Islands by none other than the Apostle Paul himself in around A.D. 60.

Paul was being taken to Rome to be tried as a political rebel, but the ship carrying him and some 274 others was caught in a violent storm only to be wrecked two weeks later on the Maltese coast. All aboard swam safely to land.

The site of the wreck is traditionally known as St. Paul's Island, and is marked by a statue commemorating the event.

The welcome given to the survivors is described in the Acts of the Apostles (XXVIII) by St. Luke:

"And later we learned that the island was called Malta.
And the people who lived there showed us great kindness, 
and they made a fire and called us all to warm ourselves... "

As the fire was lit, Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake but he suffered no ill effects. The islanders took this as a sign that he was a special man. This scene is depicted in many religious works of art on the Islands.

According to tradition, the Apostle took refuge in a cave, now known as St. Paul's Grotto in Rabat, Malta.

During his winter stay, he was invited to the house of Publius, the Romans' chief man on the Islands. It was here, according to tradition, that Paul cured Publius' father of a serious fever. Publius is then said to have converted to Christianity and was made the first Bishop of Malta. The Cathedral of Mdina is said to stand on the site of Publius' house.

Archaeological evidence support this tradition, as Malta was one of the first Roman colonies to convert to Christianity. 

The Knights of the Order of St. John (1530-1798) This specimen was coined during this period of Malta history.

It is hard to miss the legacy of the Knights of Malta. They gave the Islands one of its best-known faces to the world, the eight-pointed Maltese Cross.

No era has left such an imprint on the Islands as the 250 year rule of the Order of Malta. From their daily lives to their valiant battles, all is documented in the archives, architecture, and folklore of the Maltese Islands.

To trace the Knights, start in the places they made home: the Three Cities and Fort St. Angelo; then Valletta, the Baroque, fortified city they built. You'll sense their presence by wondering through their palaces, courtyards and gardens.

Across the Islands you'll find more evidence of their stay in their military engineering and architectural feats: Forts, Bastions, Watch Towers, Acqueducts, Churches and Cathedrals. Not to mention the rich patrimony they bequeathed the Islands with works of Art, Furniture, Silverware, Sculpture, and their unique Coinage. Less evident, but none less important, is the place they gave the Islands in the history of medicine.

Their "Sacra Infermeria" in Valetta was the foremost Hospital of all Europe in its day.