Malta welcomes Pope FrancisA woman lives in St. Peter's Monastery, the oldest monastery in Malta, and a long tradition of Benedictine nuns stretching back in history to the 15th century. However, that centuries-long continuity is now in jeopardy, as she is the only one left to walk the corridors of this beautiful monastery in Mdina, the "City of Silence" that was once the capital of the country.
Blessed Mary Adeodata Pisani
These are the same steps taken by Blessed Maria Adeodata Pisani. This nun, who received the name Maria Teresa at baptism, lived from 1806 to 1855. Daughter of a marriage turbulent, she refused to integrate into the life of society that her mother wanted to impose on her and entered the monastery of St. Peter in Mdina on July 16, 1828, at the age of 22. There she took the name Maria Adeodata and, just two years later, made her solemn profession.
Blessed Pisani held various positions: sacristan, nurse, porter, novice mistress and abbess. During her time at the head of the monastery, she stood out for her fidelity to the Rule of St. Benedict and for her tenacity in helping the nuns of the entire community.
On February 25, 1855, he went to receive Holy Communion, indicating to the nurse who cared for him that this was the last time he would go down to the chapel. After receiving the sacrament, he suffered a heart attack and died a few hours later, having received the Anointing of the Sick.
Saint John Paul II beatified Maria Adeodata Pisani on May 9, 2001, saying that her life was a "splendid example of Benedictine religious consecration". The Polish Pope, referring to the Blessed, stressed that "with her prayer, her work and her love she became a source of spiritual and missionary fruitfulness, without which the Church cannot preach the Gospel according to Christ's command, because mission and contemplation absolutely need each other."
An octogenarian nun
Today, the only person who carries on the legacy of that blessed woman is an octogenarian nun. Her home, this hidden convent in the Maltese City of Silence, is open for those who want to visit it. However, they will not see her.
Those who enter the grounds will first encounter the smile of a volunteer working at the door, offering guides to the museum-monastery in different languages. Then, as they walk through the rooms, contemplating the multitude of works of art hanging on the walls, they may hear a dog barking in the distance. As you peek into the garden that serves as an orchard for the only guest of the place, you may see the little animal playing in the dirt, while a woman tends to the plants that grow there. The two of them are the only company for the only Benedictine nun left in Malta.
What happens next?
At the end of the visit to the monastery, it is impossible not to wonder what will happen to all that spiritual and artistic heritage when there are no more nuns there. If someone asks the volunteer at the entrance, he will just shrug his shoulders with a smile, implying that this is the same question asked by everyone who passes by.
Will the legacy of the Benedictine nuns pass into the hands of the government? Will another religious order begin its life there? Will some of the remaining Benedictine nuns in the world move to the monastery?
Perhaps some young Maltese girl will respond to a call from God, inviting her to recollect herself and meet Him in this monastery, which, by a beautiful coincidence, is located precisely in the City of Silence.
Malta welcomes Pope Francis
