In English this would literally translate to St Paul of the Step - where this name came from I do not know but the whole area has taken up this name too. Legend has it that the people of Naxxar were amongst the first to come to the aid of St Paul and the other passengers, when their ship went aground on the rocks in Malta around 60AD. It is also said that the people of Naxxar were the first to be converted to Christianity and that the small church at San Pawl tat-Targa, completed in 1699, was built on the spot where St Paul preached and is said to have been heard even as far away as Gozo!!!
Today, the church functions regularly and serves the new community at San Pawl tat-Targa.
