Be the first to comment!A public lecture on the ‘Ripentite – Santa Maria Maddalena’
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The Malta Historical Society is organising a lecture by Christine Muscat MA (Hospitaller Studies) on The Ripentite – Santa Maria Maddalena 1595 – 1798.
The monastery of the Ripentite, founded by the Hospitallers in the late sixteenth century, does not fit well in the existing late Renaissance picture of Hospitaller female monasteries. It was not, however, an atypical monastery. Santa Maria Maddalena was a Hospitaller monastery that conformed to the prevailing political, socio- cultural and economic scenario of its time.
The birth of the monastery of Santa Maria Maddalena was a direct consequence of the rise of prostitution and the Order’s attempt to reform. The monastery went on to become a pawn in the continuous struggle between the Grand Master, the Inquisitor and the Bishop. The constant power struggles, the numerous interferences and frequent impositions and coercions caused turmoil.
The community also faced internal conflict, due to socio-cultural differences between nuns. In a male-dominated society, rife with prejudice against women, and prostitutes the Ripentite went on to become a pioneer group of female entrepreneurs highly involved in welfare, politics, real estate, investments and legal negotiations.
This is the untold story of the Magdalene sisters in Malta who played an instrumental role in Hospitaller Malta.
This lecture aims to provide insight on the vicissitudes of the monastery and to pay tribute to the Ripentite who have been virtually obliterated from our national memory.
It will take place at 7.00pm, next Tuesday, the 19th of June at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Valletta.
Christine Muscat graduated B.A. (Hons) Anthropology and M.A. (Hospitaller Studies) at the University of Malta. She is a lecturer at the Institute of Tourism Studies, an International and European tourist guide trainer and an active tourist guide.
Her area of research and study is on female religious communities in Hospitaller Malta, with a special focus on Santa Maria Maddalena, a Hospitaller convent for repented prostitutes.
