A questionable lease arrangement has led to the Holy See to take direct control of the Monastery of St Peter in Mdina. This drastic step has exposed internal tensions within Church administration.

In a decisive move, the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life ordered the suppression of the monastery and appointed Dom Jeremias Schröder, Abbot Primate of the Order of Saint Benedict, to assume full control of all administrative matters related to the property. The decision effectively removes local oversight and places the historic site under authority delegated directly from the Vatican.

At the centre of the controversy is a striking reality. Just one Benedictine nun occupied the monastery. It emerged that she had signed two separate fifty year lease agreements with private individuals without authorization. Each agreement was reportedly set at less than €2,000 per month. The contracts were concluded unilaterally and without the required approval from Church authorities responsible for administering ecclesiastical property.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna made several attempts to resolve the matter internally. Those efforts were refused, leaving the Archdiocese with no alternative but to inform the Holy See. Rome responded by declaring that no other solution remained except to suppress the monastery altogether. The nun has been instructed to complete the necessary formalities by the end of the year and will be transferred to another Benedictine community.

The monastery forms part of a group of four ecclesiastical entities whose administration was centralised in the nineteen eighties through decrees issued by the late Archbishop Ġużeppi Mercieca. Since that time the Archbishop’s Curia has administered the property and provided a monthly subsidy of €4,000 for running expenses, in addition to covering salaries and extraordinary costs. Under these arrangements, anyone occupying the premises was obliged to seek authorization before assigning or leasing any part of the monastery or related property. Not only was this obligation ignored, but information about the contracts was also withheld. Beyond the immediate dispute, the episode raises a broader question that the Church can no longer avoid. With monasteries and convents increasingly left with only one