Cathedral Church in Mdina, Malta is dedicated to St. Paul. According to tradition, it is located where the home of St Publius, the first Maltese saint, once stood.
The oldest cathedral in Malta, which was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is said to have been built on this spot. It fell into disrepair during the Muslim period.
After the Normans conquered Malta, a new cathedral was built and dedicated to St Paul.
In January 1693, this cathedral was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake.
All that remained were the sacristy and a choir containing paintings by Mattia Preti.
Immediately, work began to build rebuild the cathedral and make it bigger than it was before. This project was undertaken by the Maltese architect Lorenzo Gafa. The new cathedral was completed in 1702.
The facade above the main entrance of the cathedral contains the coats of arms of the City of Mdina, of Fra Ramon Perellos, who was the reigning Grand Master when the cathedral was built, and of Bishop Cocoa Palmier, who consecrated the cathedral.
At the right of the entrance is a statue of St Publius by the sculptor Giuseppe Valenti. Statues of St Luke and St John that are located in the chancel were also built by Valenti.
Paintings by Francesco Zahra, a Maltese artist, can be found in enclosed chapels next to the chancel.
Cathedral Church's side altars contain depictions of the martyrdoms of St Publius, St Luke and St Cajetan.
Paintings include depictions of the Annunciation by the Domenico Bruschi and the Madonna as patroness of Malta by Pietro Gagliardi.
The cathedral contains a monument to Fabrizio Sceberras Testaferrata, Malta's only cardinal. There is a monument to Malta's first metropolitan archbishop, Michael Gonzi, that was built by the Maltese sculptor Vincent Apap in 1971.
There is a 15th century icon of the virgin Mary in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament.
Mario Caffaro Rore painted the interior of the cupola in 1955. The scene depicts Christ presenting St Peter and St Paul, who are surrounded by other saints, to God the Father.