In the early 18th century, in Senglea there lived two wealthy families: the Dingli and the Cornelio families. On January 3, 1723, Joseph and Alessandra Dingli became the parents of Nicholas. And on September 3, 1735, also in Senglea, Magdalene was born, the only daughter of Joseph and Diana Cornelio.

As he was approaching the age of 40, Nicholas Dingli married Magdalene Cornelio. Towards the beginning of the 18th century, Joseph Cornelio had bought a large house at the Senglea Marina. Upon his death, it passed on to his wife, Diana, who eventually left it in her will to her daughter Magdalene. The house also had a private oratory.

Nicholas and Magdalene Dingli were righteous, beloved and of good reputation. They established friendships with knights and noble Maltese families. Nonetheless, Nicholas and Magdalene seem to have been affected by misfortune.

On December 14, 1764, Nicholas and Magdalene cheered the first fruit of their love. It was a girl whom they named Marianna. Unfortunately, after just a year and seven months, on July 17, 1766, their first daughter died.

On  June 17, 1767, Magdalene gave birth to a second child. It was a girl who they also named Marianna. Four-and-a-half years later, on November 4, 1771, their first son was born. They named him Romualdo, in honour of the knight who carried out the role of godfather during his baptism.

However, this only boy, who could hand on the Dingli surname from one generation to another and take care of the family’s wealth, also died prematurely on March 20, 1775. Having no other descendents, the single lasting hope for Nicholas and Magdalene stood in their daughter Marianna.

On  November 26, 1784, Marianna married lawyer Louis Mary Gatto, Count of Beberrua. It was a marriage celebrated with all solemnity in the oratory of the Dingli-Cornelio family home.

However, when Nicholas was 68 and his wife Magdalene 57, Countess Marianna Gatto passed away at the age of 25, on November 21, 1792, eight years from the date of her marriage, and without leaving any children.

The family’s moving story is intimately linked to the Ospizio Sant’Anna. The circumstances of their lives, which one could easily describe as tragic, are the cause of the existence of the Ospizio today. The Dinglis were growing in age, and they had no children left to whom they could consign their great wealth.

Thus, with the death of their last daughter, Nicholas and Magdalene agreed among themselves to perform a noble feat. At the beginning of 1794, Nicholas Dingli, at the age of 69, and Magdalene, now over 58, took the decision that the large house they owned would be transformed into an ospedaletto (a small hospital) for elderly and frail women.

On February 28, 1794, Judge Salvatore Zammit brought their petition before Grand Master Emmanuel de Rohan. On March 1, 1794, the approval by which they were granted the faculty to carry on with the intended project was received. In Senglea, on March 30, 1794, through their last will signed before Notary Ignatius Xavier Bonavita, Nicholas and Magdalene Dingli explained their aim and purpose.

Nicholas and Magdalene were blessed with many more years of life. Nicholas lived for another 15 years and died on August 8, 1809, close to the age of 85, while Magdalene died on March 4, 1814, aged over 79.

Upon their death, their project became known. To ensure the project’s success, the founders decided to place it under the protection of the Bishop of Malta, and wanted it to be administered by the Confraternity of the Holy Crucifix, which had been set up in the Senglea parish since 1715.

The Dinglis were growing in age, and had no children to whom they could consign their great wealth. Thus, they took the decision that the large house they owned would be transformed into an ospedaletto (a small hospital) for elderly and frail women

The Ospizio was set up to accommodate six poor women who needed help and who lacked any means of livelihood. The choice of residents was to fall on those who presented proof that they were related to the Dingli or Cornelio families. Thus, it was established that three women had to be from Nicholas’s side, and another three from Magdalene’s relatives. If there were no blood relatives, then preference would go to women from Senglea or from Siġġiewi, where Nicholas had extended family members.

The first five individuals who did everything possible to properly execute the founder’s will were: Senglea Archpriest Canon Vincent Cachia, Canon Joseph Ciantar, Noble Joseph Testaferrata Dei Marchesi, and lawyers Joseph Nicholas Zammit and Teodoro Vincent Bonnici.

The founders had also wished that the residents of the Ospizio would have a priest to celebrate daily Mass and to provide confession and other spiritual aid. Archpriest Cachia foresaw that Ospizio Sant’Anna was going to be a valuable social asset in his parish.

On April 17, 1817, the Ospizio was blessed by Mgr Simone Biagio, Vicar General of the Maltese diocese. Then, on May 6, 1817, Archpriest Cachia solemnly blessed the chapel in the room which had originally served as Dingli family’s private oratory.

Once the place was blessed, its imminent inauguration was announced in Senglea and in Siġġiewi. In fact, the official opening was held on September 3, 1819. On that day, the very first six women were welcomed.

The essential details of each and every woman admitted started to be kept in a special manuscript entitled Ospizio S. Anna: Cronologia delle Invalide Ammesse.

Many of those who entered the Ospizio lived a long life. Therefore, applications for the admission of new residents were not so frequent. From records held at the Ospizio, it results that between 1819 and 1972, only 46 women were admitted.

According to information drawn from an inscription in marble that once existed in the chapel, in 1856, the construction of the new chapel was completed at the rear of the Ospizio, on the upper floor. The chapel was dedicated to St Anne.

In the years 1888, 1889, and 1893, Canon (later Mgr) Ignatio Panzavecchia was one of the procurators of the Ospizio. He was a priest who represented the clergy in the government council, played an active role in the National Assembly, set up the Unione Politica Maltese and, in 1921, withdrew from becoming the first Prime Minister of Malta, although he remained active in the political arena as a senator.

It was on September 16, 1889, when Panzavecchia was procurator, that the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus set up a convent in Senglea. Very soon afterwards, they started to get involved in the life of the parish and Canon Panzavecchia invited them to give their assistance at the Ospizio. In this regard, on February 15, 1898, an agreement was reached and signed by Mother Margherita De Brincat, as superior general of the congregation (who was proclaimed venerable in 2014), Canon Carmelo Borg Mousu and pharmacist George Gatt, appearing on behalf of the Confraternity of the Holy Crucifix.

The Franciscan Sisters started giving their assistance on April 25, 1898. It lasted for over 80 years. They were much loved by all and they also succeeded in nurturing a significant number of vocations to their congregation from this parish.

In the 20th century, a number of canons from the Senglea Chapter, all members of the Confraternity of the Holy Crucifix, carried out the role of procurators of the Ospizio. The last one of these was Canon Vincent Camilleri who, since 1953, had been planning a new Ospizio.

However, while he was deliberating what could be done for the benefit of the Ospizio, various difficulties cropped up. Apart from the fact that there were no modern amenities, the building itself was very old, and, indeed, there was a serious threat that the building would eventually collapse.

Hence, Canon Camilleri, with the support of Mgr Joseph Mercieca, Archbishop of Malta, and with the help of Canon John Sladden, Archpriest of Senglea, initiated the much needed project.

On  October 23, 1980, the old building of Ospizio Sant’Anna started being demolished. The foundations were laid, and a new building began to rise following the plan laid by architect Joe Borg Costanzi.

The construction was completed by 1984. It was a great accomplishment of procurator Camilleri. Sadly, Archpriest Sladden, who had had a very important role in the realisation of this deed, fell seriously ill in March 1985, relinquished his post as Senglea’s archpriest, was promoted to monsignor, and died on April 3, 1986.

Meanwhile, the Senglea parish was given a new archpriest in the person of Canon Vincent Cachia, who happened to have the same name and surname of that of the archpriest who led the parish when Ospizio Sant’Anna was inaugurated in 1819, 200 years ago.

The new Ospizio, now with the name of St Anne’s Home, was officially inaugurated by Mgr Joseph Mercieca, Archbishop of Malta, on June 30, 1987. The new building is able to host 33 elderly people, both male and female, who, due to old age, need to be looked after and someone to take care of their daily necessities.

This is a legacy that was and will remain under the protection of St Anne, mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Administered at first by the Moviment Umanità Ġdida, within the Focolare Movement, and today one of the homes for the elderly administered by the Archdiocese of Malta, it is a home which, while providing temporal relief to all those who are welcomed within, continues to provide holistic elderly care and elderly rehabilitation.