From its founding in 1965 to today, Id-Dar tal-Providenza has grown from a single vision into a vital community.
Our history reflects decades of dedication, compassion, and service, providing homes and support for people with disabilities while shaping a legacy of dignity and inclusion in Malta.
In the early 1960s, Mgr Mikiel Azzopardi—an educator, broadcaster, and General Ecclesiastical Assistant of the Maltese Catholic Action—felt the need for the Church in Malta to start offering residential services to persons with disabilities who required such support. At that time, many persons with disabilities were excluded from participating in social life. Some were even living in unsuitable environments such as elderly care homes, despite some being minors or young adults.
On September 12, 1965, during a program on Rediffusion called The Hour of the Sick, Mgr Azzopardi shared his wish with listeners to open the first residential home in Malta for persons with disabilities. A woman who heard the program was so moved by the idea that she waited outside his house in Floriana and handed him a cheque for one hundred lira (about €230)—money she had saved for a holiday abroad. That day, he felt that God was calling him to commit himself to this project. The following day, he contacted an architect to start designing the plans for the home.
In December of that year, construction began on the site that until 1962 had been the Qrendi Royal Navy Rest Camp, later leased to the Maltese Catholic Action. This home, named Villa Mons. Gonzi, was completed in 1968.
Sisters from the Congregation of Saint Jeanne Antide Thouret, better known as the Sisters of Charity, began residing there on January 12, 1968. They were the first support workers at Id-Dar tal-Providenza, assisted by volunteers and later by paid staff. The sisters provided continuous service from that day until 2020.
The first three residents began living at Villa Mons. Gonzi on February 11, 1968. In 1999, the villa underwent extensive renovations and was re-inaugurated and blessed on July 17, 2001, by Archbishop Mgr Joseph Mercieca.
In 1971, construction began on a second home designed to accommodate adults in four separate flats. This building, named Villa Papa Giovanni, was inaugurated on March 19, 1974, by Archbishop Mgr Mikiel Gonzi.
In September 1986, the Kerygma Movement began organizing an annual volleyball marathon in aid of Id-Dar tal-Providenza, continuing until 2004. By that year, volunteers had played over 2,500 hours of continuous volleyball and raised over one million two hundred thousand Maltese Lira.
On May 28, 1989, His Excellency Fra Andrew Bertie, the Grand Master of the Order of Saint John, visited Id-Dar tal-Providenza in Siġġiewi.
Between May 25 and 27, 1990, Pope John Paul II made a pastoral visit to the Maltese Islands.
On Sunday, May 27, the final day of his visit, the residents of the Home had the opportunity to meet him during a gathering for persons with disabilities and the sick in the square beside St. Paul’s Parish Church in Rabat. That evening, Debbie Schembri, a resident of the Home, had the honor of presenting the offerings to the Pope during the Mass celebrated at the Floriana Granaries.
In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Home, several initiatives were undertaken, including pilgrimages to Lourdes and Fatima for residents, newspaper articles, and a conference in collaboration with the Federation of Voluntary Organizations for Persons with Disability at the Imperial Hotel in Sliema on December 2, 1995, marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The special guest for the conference was Don Luigi Ferlauto.
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