St Peter's Church and Monastery, Mdina

St Peter's Church and Monastery
Benedictine Monastery
Il-Knisja u il-Monasteru ta' San Pietru
St Peter's Church and Monastery
35°53′07.6″N 14°24′12.6″E
Location	Mdina
Country	Malta
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Status	Active
Dedication	Saint Peter
Architecture
Functional status	Monastery Church
Style	Baroque
Completed	1625
Administration
Archdiocese	Malta
Clergy
Archbishop	Charles Scicluna

The Church and Monastery of St Peter (Maltese: Il-knisja u monasteru ta' San Pietru) is a Catholic Benedictine monastery for cloistered nuns located in the medieval city of Mdina, Malta. The adjacent church is dedicated to St Peter and St Benedict.[1]

History

The monastery was founded by Pope Callixtus III in 1455 at the request of the citizens of Mdina, on the site of a medieval hospital.[2] The present church as seen today was rebuilt by the nuns in around 1625 with the support of Bishop Baldassare Cagliares, whose coat of arms is displayed above the church door.[3]

Interior of the church

The altarpiece if 1682 by the artist Mattia Preti depicts the Madonna and Child with Saint Peter, St Benedict and St Scholastica. Other works depict Our Lady of the Pillar, by Francesco Zahra.[4] The altar was installed in the church in the 1740s, and is the work of Francesco Zahra, marmista Claudio Duranti, and bronzaro Marco Morelli.[5] The church also holds the remains of the Blessed Maria Adeodata Pisani(1806–55), a cloistered nun who lived at the monastery in the 19th century.[6] The Blessed Maria Adeodata Pisani was beatified by Pope John Paul II during his visit to Malta in May 2001.

A back wing of the monastery has been opened to the public as a museum. The rooms of the Blessed Adeodata Pisani at the monastery are also open to visitors.

References

1. "Mdina", Malta-Canada. Retrieved on 16 April 2017.
2. Aquilina, George; Fiorini, Stanley (2005). Documentary Sources of Maltese History, Part IV: Documents at the Vatican, No. 2. Malta: Malta University Press. pp. 259–261.
3. Brincat, A. M. "San Pietru u San Benedettu ~ Imdina ~", Kappelli Maltin. Retrieved on 16 April 2017.
4. Caruana Dingli, Petra (2020). "Francesco Zahra's 'Madonna del Pilar' at St Peter's Monastery in Mdina". Treasures of Malta. 79: 59–65.
5. Caruana Dingli, Petra (2022). "A Marble Altar for the Monastery of St Peter in Mdina". Treasures of Malta. 84: 75-85.
6. Serracino Inglott, Peter (2018). Caruana Dingli, Petra (ed.). Adeodata Pisani: A Mystic Nun in Mdina. Malta: St Peter's Monastery, Mdina. p. 203. ISBN 978-99957-1-344-7.