Come Fiori Tra Spine: A Borromean Spirituality for the Knights of Malta (1570-1620)

The lecture seeks to provide some insights into the spiritual reform of the Order of St John between the second half of the sixteenth and the first decades of the seventeenth century, especially delving into Tridentinism, Malta and the Order. Through a set of unpublished letters exchanged between the cardinal Carlo Borromeo, a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation, and a small group of knights we will take a closer look at a very delicate moment in the history of the Order, a period of both institutional and spiritual reconstruction in the first years of the new city, Valletta, and more broadly in the aftermath of the Council of Trent.

The history of Hospitaller spiritualties, more plural than singular, needs to be investigated by always keeping in mind the double nature of the Hospitaller institution, both a religious order and a principality. Whilst attention has been given to the physical reconstruction, culminating in the new city projects, much less scholarly attention has been offered to the Order of St John’s piety and spirituality.These letters give voice to a group of knights that resided in a retreat house known as the Camerata built during the first years of Valletta. These knights were the main contributors of a Tridentine Spirituality, at a time when the Order of St John had only a devotional pattern to rely on but no clear spiritual pathway.

This events is being held in collaboration with the Sacra Militia Foundation.

The public lecture will be held at the Oratory of the Immacolata, adjacent to the Jesuit Church in Valletta. Entrance is from Archbishop Street.

Entrance to the lecture is free but a donation towards the Jesuit Church Foundation's cultural projects is appreciated.