Thank you to Emma Beddington for her thoughtful column (Tired of being a woman in 2025? Why not become a nun?, 1 December). It is always refreshing to see nuns and religious sisters portrayed in a context other than the horror-movie stereotype we seem to have inherited.
I was intrigued by her mention of Convent Wisdom: How Sixteenth-Century Nuns Could Save Your Twenty-First-Century Life by Ana Garriga and Carmen Urbita. I look forward to reading it and I may well recommend it in our Franciscan newsletter.
Emma is absolutely right that there has been a renewed interest among younger women in religious life. I have been a Franciscan sister for two years. While some women are called to the cloistered, contemplative life, many of us belong to active orders. Our work is practical and rooted in service to the poor. In my own ministry, I divide my time between soup kitchens, homeless shelters, emergency food and housing programmes, and – drawing on my background in healthcare – providing medical support to people living on the streets.
For me, this vocation offers the best of both worlds. I live in a community of women and participate in our daily offices of prayer, yet I also live and work in central London, very much immersed in the life of the city.
Not everyone called to religious life flourishes behind monastery walls. Fortunately, there are many forms of religious life – contemplative cloistered orders, mixed contemplative/active communities, apostolic and fully active orders – each offering a distinct way to live out one’s calling.
It has become increasingly common for people to be unsure of what a nun actually is, and with the abundance of cinematic nuns (few of them flattering) – and the unfortunate legacy of some deeply troubled individuals in our history – it’s heartening to encounter writing that treats us with curiosity and wit.
Sister Sophia Rose
Community of St Francis, London
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