Mysterium Fidei Museum St Catherine's Monastery and Secret Garden — Attraction in Valletta

MYSTERIUM FIDEI MONASTERY NOW OPEN FOR THE PUBLIC AFTER 400 YEARS The Mysterium Fidei Museum is an immersive experience that will take you to a world within a world; into the underground complex lying beneath St. Catherine’s Monastery in Valletta. Monastic nuns who chose to lock themselves from the outside world, till death and beyond it. Immerse yourself into everyday life at the monastery and the fascinating secrets hidden within these walls. St. Catherine’s Monastery was founded in 1575, initially to care for female orphans. It was built as solemn thanks for prayers answered, with the stonework used to build this monastery, literally dug from underneath it. The open quarry was then turned into the underground complex you will be experiencing. Over hundreds of years, cloistered nuns made an oath to lead a life of prayer, contemplation, and of service. From within the walls of this monastery, what is probably the last generation of nuns carry on the legacy...

Valletta’s Mysterium Fidei is a museum inside the basement of a 3 story working monastery in the heart of Valletta, Malta, that still houses cloistered nuns of the Second Order of Saint Augustine.

It was partially opened to the public after 400 years just recently in February of 2023 and is worth a visit for its stone architecture, garden, & lengthy history when you are on the main island. Previously, it was only open during a few local festivals – but now we can all have a look.

The museum is explained through a downloadable walking tour that will describe the building's history, its individual rooms, their uses, & the weekly lifestyles of the inhabitants. It’s a slick way to scan the museum as a whole & then return to delve deeper into a subject in a single room.

The informative & friendly Hosts will guide you on using the app & the QR posters as you enter. Enjoy the house...

We had a sneak preview in January before official opening in March. And what can we say...we were absolutely blown away and cannot recommend this museum enough. If you are in Valletta, or in fact anywhere on the Island, we recommend taking the time to go. We had such a warm welcome from the brilliant Jacob (sorry if it's the wrong spelling!) who has put so much effort into making the museum a reality. Jacob has restored and therefore preserved historical artefacts thus being able to truly highlight how the nuns have lived for centuries. The museum has been transformed with the utmost respect for the sisters and their way of life. It is in essence a piece of living history and one not to be missed. There were so many highlights throughout the tour and so many that were unexpected too. We feel really lucky to have the experience we had and to have been the first...