As the days get shorter and the end of the year is closer, we may feel a need for some quiet time to reflect on our year. It is not easy to find a quiet spot in busy Valletta, but it’s not impossible either! The Mysterium Fidei Monastery and the Black Friars Experience provide a meaningful mixture of spiritual experience and history that can serve as a peaceful haven for all.

The Mysterium Fidei Cloister

More than 400 years of history and life stories are hidden behind the high walls of the Mysterium Fidei Monastery. When choosing a cloistered life, the woman vows never to leave – not even in death. The crypt at Mysterium Fidei, where for over 400 years the nuns have been laid to rest, is open to visitors. November is the month of Remembrance, a time when the nuns pray for all their ‘sisters’ who have passed. Dealing with loss is always difficult – the peace and serenity at the monastery could provide some much-needed guidance or inspiration for those who seek them.

The still-active cloister provided a home for hundreds of Augustinian nuns for over the past four hundred years. Walking around the garden and under the old arches, one can get an impression of their humble life, and possibly even take the opportunity to reflect on one’s own life experience.

The Black Friars Experience

As November ends, the Liturgical Year also draws to a close, and with the first Sunday of December, a new one begins. This first Sunday is the first day of Advent – the four-week-long period of preparation before Christmas.  Preparation does not only involve buying gifts and busying oneself with the Christmas dinner menu, but it could also give us some time to reflect on the past year and the new one about to begin.

The Black Friars Experience provides a perfect space to start one’s Christmas celebrations. Entering the building, you find yourself in the museum where you can gain an insight into Valletta and the Friars, also known as the Dominican Fathers, and their history. There are also two beautiful chapels open for visitation, which thus far have been closed to the public for 300 years. The grandeur of Malta’s first Minor Basilica waits next in line to dazzle visitors with its stunning beauty. The church provides a peaceful moment in the pre-Christmas madness and get those who gather there into the Christmas spirit.

For more information, visit the Mysterium Fidei and Black Friars Experience websites.

Had you ever heard of these hidden gems in Valletta?