From its early years, the Order of St John has included women within its branches. While separate from the military role of the hospitaller knights and relatively limited in number, the female religious houses associated with the Order formed a valued part of its mission. They existed across different regions of Europe, including in Spain, France and Italy in a variety of forms.
The Order established two religious houses for women in Malta in the late 1500s – St Mary Magdalene’s monastery which was suppressed by the French government in 1798, and St Ursula’s monastery which continues to function in Valletta today. This lecture will explore the diverse roles of these two monasteries in early modern Malta, within the broader context of female religious houses of the Order of St John.
The speaker, Prof. Petra Caruana Dingli, is Associate Professor at the Edward de Bono Institute for Creative Thinking and Innovation at the University of Malta. She also lectures within the Faculty of Arts. She is chairperson of the Mdina Cathedral Archives and Council member of the heritage NGO Din l-Art Helwa and editor of its magazine Vigilo. She holds a doctorate in the field of literature from the University of Oxford.
Entrance is free but donations are welcome.
Access is from Archbishop Street
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