page_title: Fatima House
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Fatima House / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Villa Betharram
context_page_description: Fatima House, formerly Villa Bétharram, is a late nineteenth-century villa at 65 High Street, Sliema, Malta. It was purposely built as a family residence for the Galea family, on request of Maltese Senator Alfonso Maria Galea. It is now a residence for females in social needs, sometimes known as Fatima Hostel or Fatima Working Girls' House.
  The building was designed by leading Architect Francesco Zammit in the Palladian style and is detached from other buildings, being completely surrounded by gardens. It is a historic house and a Grade II scheduled building. It is one of the few remaining villas in the highly urbanized Sliema whereabouts, giving the idea of how Sliema once was.
context_section_description: The site was previously occupied by a historic larger building known as the Hunter’s Palace. It was built in the early British colonial period, when most of Sliema consisted of fields and open spaces. This served as a hunting lodge for years and was decided to replace it with two villas when the now demolished lodge was inherited between the brothers-in-law Alfonso Maria Galea and Agostino Borg Cardona.
  The site in Sliema and the whereabouts saw major development during the Crown Colony of Malta, when British and Maltese developed the place from a fishing village to a vibrant town of differing architecture. The most prominent Maltese acquired plots in the whereabout of the current villa and built stately homes with imposing architecture, as a symbol of their position and for personal commodities.
  The ground of the building became in possession of Philanthropist Sir Alfonso Maria Galea (Maltese: is-Sur Fons Marija Galea) in the early 19th century and, through his decision to erect a building, it set a domino effect for a growing community in the area. Galea appointed leading Architect Francesco Zammit to design a villa, who had an eye for details, expectations for the clients and architectural context. Zammit used a mix of contemporal and British period design, and the final design is of Palladian architecture. He also designed the next door Villino Zammit to similar architecture design. Zammit and Alfonso were close relatives of the same family.
  The residence was completed by 1895, and was originally named Villa Betharram, and at some point renamed as Villa Rathnapoora. It was used as a residence for Galea himself. Galea was a prominent person and had close connection with the Roman Catholic Church who often corresponded with the higher hierarchy of the religion and gave generous donations.
  In 1942 the nearby matrice parish Church of Stella Maris was severely damaged by an aerial raid during World War II, and the Galea family opened their house as an alternative place for worship during and after the war, until the parish church opened to the public again.
  The daughter of Galea, Mary Xavier, became a Catholic nun and at this point the family donated the Villa to the White Sister, the same Catholic organization which Mary joined. The short-lived religious organization was founded in 1957, when the house was transferred from the family to the church, and became defunct by 1960.
  The donation of the property received a prominent coverage by the Times of Malta on 19 September 1957, when passed to the sisters, and was described as a stately home due to being one of the largest residences in Sliema. The main scope of donating the property was to serve as an ideal place for newly ordained sisters to further their studies for their vocation and as a residence. The family received praise by being named for their gesture. The newspaper said that:
  The residence changed purpose by 1960, when it was handed to the Sisters of St Dorothy who converted it to a homeless shelter. The initiative was encouraged and pushed forward by the Bishop of Malta Mikiel Gonzi, in order to keep assisting in later stages girls who when younger were already assisted in the institutions of the church.
  As a startup the home accepted the help and initiatives of two American aid organizations; the C.R.S. and the  American Relief Association (C.A.R.E.). The organizations accepted donation from the American and Maltese people in the form of items and food, who later distributed them accordingly. About a year later on 29 January 1961, when the house had already received clients, it was officially inaugurated by Lady Granthem, the wife of the Government of Malta Sir Guy Grantham, followed by the blessing of Bishop Gonzi. The number of girls given residence increased from two in 1960 to fifteen in 1965.
  The conversion proved to be successful and the shelter for minors and youth females remained a supporting ground leading for an eventual independent living. The house was then handed to the Sister of St Joseph in 1965, when Provincial Sister Victoria Ramsey accepted
caption: Façade details by Zammit
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