The Jesuits’ Church Foundation, in collaboration with FUMAC − the University of Malta – Valletta Campus, is on Wednesday (January 28) launching an exhibition and a scholarly volume as part of official celebrations marking the reopening of the Jesuit church in Valletta, following the successful completion of the first phase of a comprehensive conservation project.
The exhibition, titled Images of Reform, will be inaugurated at 6pm in the Oratory of the Onorati, within the Jesuit church complex. It presents, for the first time, a curated selection of Italian baroque altar paintings from the Jesuit church, recently restored as part of the ongoing regeneration programme. Through these works, Images of Reform explores the visual language of the Catholic Reform and the pivotal role played by Jesuit patronage in shaping artistic, devotional and theological expression in early modern Malta.
Curated by Fr Nicholas Joseph Doublet and Prof. Keith Sciberras, the exhibition highlights the Jesuit church’s pronounced Italian character and its close artistic connections with major centres such as Rome and Naples. The paintings on display − by leading protagonists of the Italian Baroque − are presented not merely as masterpieces of art, but as instruments of catechesis, persuasion, and spiritual formation, fully integrated within the Jesuit mission.
The exhibition’s opening will also coincide with the launch of the volume Shaping Minds and Souls: Jesuit Missions and the Mediterranean World, edited by Roberta Cruciata and Nicholas Joseph Doublet.
Published as a special issue of OADI – Rivista dell’Osservatorio per le Arti Decorative in Italia, the book brings together international scholarship arising from the interdisciplinary research and conservation initiatives centred on the Jesuit church complex. It reflects the close synergy between historical research, art history and conservation practice that has underpinned the project.
These initiatives are integral to the broader celebrations surrounding the reopening of the Jesuit church, considered one of Malta’s most important ecclesiastical and cultural monuments. Established between the late 16th and early 17th centuries as part of the Collegium Melitense − the Jesuit College and precursor of the University of Malta − the church has long stood at the intersection of worship, education and culture.
The ongoing conservation programme, coordinated by the Jesuits’ Church Foundation, in collaboration with the Restoration and Preservation Department and the University of Malta, seeks not only to safeguard its material fabric, but also to restore its historical legibility and living function as a sacred and cultural space.
Images of Reform thus inaugurates a renewed phase in the life of the Jesuit church, of rediscovery and renewed dialogue between heritage, scholarship and the wider community.