The life of the Poor Clares is centred on silent prayer, but the 25 cloister nuns at the monastery in St Julian’s are not as cut off from the outside world as it would appear.

As they mark their centenary this year, the nuns have their own Facebook page, blog and website and their door is always open to anyone who needs moral support.

“We are always open to anyone, and don’t send away anybody – we try to listen, accompany and be compassionate. We are not specialised in counselling but we pass on God’s word, which provides happiness and relief and helps people get on with their life journey,” Sr Rose Therese Ellis, 66, told The Sunday Times of Malta.

We are always open to anyone, and don’t send away anybody

“We are very keen on keeping ourselves updated with what is going on around the globe. Despite being in a cloister, our cloister is accessible – we carry the world in our hearts. By depriving ourselves from building our own a family, we dedicate our lives to the community,” the mother superior, who has been at the monastery for the past 46 years, added.

Officially called the Order of Saint Clare, Il-Klarissi were the second Franciscan Order to be established, after the Order of Friars Minor.

The Poor Clare sisters grow their own fruit and vegetables.

It was founded by saints Clare of Assisi and Francis of Assisi in 1212 and the Poor Clares arrived in Malta at the beginning of World War One and moved in the monastery where they remained to date in 1935.

As they mark 100 years in Malta, their community is made up of 26 nuns – the youngest aged 33 and the eldest 82.

Another three young women are spending some time with them to see whether the Klarissi life is for them.

Just like a family, each has her own role within the monastery: someone cooks, someone sews, another does the gardening, someone plays the zither, another of the women replies to Facebook messages and e-mails.

Asked whether they had noticed any decrease in vocations, Sr Ellis said the Klarissi life was still appealing. The Klarissi have even branched out and have a new house with four sisters in Victoria, Gozo.

Despite sitting on the side of Regional Road, the monastery has a sense of peace and tranquillity, which Sr Ellis said is achieved through prayer.

Sr Rose Therese Ellis has been at the St Clare Monastery for the past 46 years.

Their life is simple and they depend on charity. They wake up at 5.15am and start saying vespers, joyful singing and prayers at 6am. The day, which includes recreational time and group meetings, ends around 9.30pm.

Since the sisters live in a cloister, originally even medical operations used to be held in the monastery, but things have changed since the Second Vatican Council and nowadays they can visit their ill relatives, attend hospital appointments and do the necessary shopping.

The sisters will be marking St Clare’s Feast tomorrow with Solemn Mass at 6.30pm at the monastery in St Julian’s, where they are expecting some 700 people.

They can be found on their Facebook page Poor Clare Sisters - Malta: www.facebook.com/pages/Poor-Clare-Sisters-Malta, or online at www.klarissimalta.blogspot.com/ and http://klarissimalta.com/ .