St. Paul’s Collegiate Church is constructed upon, but to the left of St. Paul’s Grotto, just outside the walls and in the ditch of the old city, hence its mention in old documents as St. Paul outside The Walls. The earliest documentary evidence referring to it dates from 1372. A Mediaeval cemetery with many private chapels and memorials flourished on the left of the Church.

The dedication to St. Paul is due to the immemorial tradition of St. Paul’s use of the cave as a base for his preaching and building of an incipient Christian community during his three month stay in Malta in A.D. 60. For this reason St. Paul’s Grotto was described by the Cathedral Chapter as “the foundation stone of the Church in Malta”.