The Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was built in 1611 from contributions by the crews of the Order’s galleys. These people considered the Church as being very much their own and used it for their religious services – particularly during the Eastern Liturgy.

The Carmelite Foundation was suppressed in 1653 when the number of resident friars had dwindled to a small number. In that same year, the Church and Priory were passed to the Oratory of St Philip Neri.

In 1687 the Priory was dismantled – leaving a narrow entrance to the Church and the underlying basement rooms. The rest was rented for private use and later converted into the residence of the General Captain of the Galleys, and eventually for other Captains.

Since the church owned the slipway that lay in front of it, it was provided with some revenue as the slipway was hired for use by galleys at the nearby quay, at six tari a day – enough to meet the running expenses of the Church.

Two edicts dated 1763 and 1767 endowed the Church of Mt Carmel with an exclusive right to charge seven tari on ships loading or unloading on that part of the wharf.

In June 1886 the Church and remaining basement rooms of the Priory were handed over to the Franciscan Missionaries of Egypt (now called the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary). Close to their Convent the nuns now run a kindergarten. In 1940 the Church was severely hit by enemy action, and it was restored and modified in the 1960s.