Stand on the Balluta promenade to see this neo-Gothic parish church above the bay, then go in for its choir of stained glass, five windows almost 10 metres high.
Church, St. Julian's. Meridian Dispatch.
Yes. It is an active parish church with Mass every day. The published schedule gives Sunday Mass at 8:00, 10:00, 11:00 (in English) and 18:30, Monday to Saturday Mass at 7:45, 9:30 and 18:30, and a Mass in Italian at 17:30 on the last Sunday of the month. The schedule can change.
It is the Balluta Church, a neo-Gothic Roman Catholic parish church in St Julian's. The first Carmelite church here was a small neo-Gothic chapel of 1859, and the present building was completed in 1958.
Buses 13, 13A and 14 run along the Sliema seafront past Balluta Bay. From Valletta, take the Sliema ferry, then walk or take a short bus ride to the bay.
The Parish Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel stands at Balluta Bay, where St Julian's meets Sliema. Locals call it the Balluta Church, and it is still a working Roman Catholic parish.
In the choir, five stained-glass windows, each almost 10 metres high, rise above a set of 19 choir stalls. Of the church's 52 windows, 22 carry coloured glass, showing Carmelite saints and Maltese figures such as Saint Ġorġ Preca.
The oil paintings are by the Maltese artist Harry Alden, with elongated saints in bright colours set against the golden limestone. The grand organ has about 1,700 pipes and is one of the main modern concert organs in Malta.
Outside, the church shares the bay's skyline with the Balluta Buildings, an Art Nouveau apartment block on the eastern shore, and a cluster of terraced townhouses in the local variant of Georgian style.
If you arrive along the seafront, your first stop is Balluta Square, the triangle of Judas trees and outdoor cafés at the head of the bay, with the church on one side. The doors are surest to be open around a Mass, so time your look inside to just before or after one.
Once in, walk up the nave towards the choir to see the tall windows over the stalls, and look at the paintings on the way. If a Mass is under way, wait at the back until it ends.
Afterwards, walk out to the promenade and look back over the water at the church and the Balluta Buildings. Stone steps lead down to the rocky ledges.
Leave the car behind if you can. Street parking around Balluta and St Julian's is hard to find, especially on summer evenings, though there are paid car parks in the area.
To carry on from the church, walk east along the seafront for a few minutes to Spinola Bay, with its fishing boats and waterfront restaurants.
Walk round Spinola Bay to dinner on the restaurant terraces, then sleep in Balluta, with Spinola Bay between you and Paceville's clubs.
Read the St. Julian's guideExplore the rest of St. Julian's
A small curve of rock and stone in front of the Carmelite church, Balluta Bay is a town swim where Sliema meets St Julian's. Stone steps…
Swimmers at Exiles climb down ladders off flat rock straight into deep water, where the Sliema promenade meets St Julian's. A ticketed lido…
On Fabri Lane in St Julian's, HOLM has 29 rooms and two pools: an outdoor one with views of the sea and the valley, and one indoors. The…
From Qui-Si-Sana to the St Julian's border at Balluta, the Sliema Front promenade follows Tower Road above a rocky shore with no sand at…
Fishing boats moor in Spinola Bay, a small harbour ringed by restaurant terraces at the heart of St Julian's. The waterfront path runs from…
A seafront promenade runs round the Sliema peninsula, with Valletta across the water by ferry from The Strand. Buses link it with Valletta…
A short catamaran crossing from The Strand lands at Marsamxett on the Valletta side, the quickest way from Sliema into the capital.…
The one real sandy beach in the Sliema and St Julian's area lies at the foot of Paceville, framed by hotels and Dragonara Point. The sand…
Save Carmelite Church, Balluta to your Malta trip in the Meridian Dispatch app and build the day around it, with the best of St. Julian's pinned on one map.
Download on the App StoreLast updated