Here’s a collection of some surprising nuns who put the UN in UNordinary! Read on for proof that God calls a wide variety of women to the religious life.
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Here are 11 Surprising things nuns do that you wouldn’t think of!
Beauty Queen
Meet Esmeralda Solís Gonzáles from Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico! In 2016, Esmeralda won the title of Queen in her hometown. Despite the fame and glory that came with the title, she says the ache to discover her vocation remained like a ‘little thorn.’ In March 2017, Esmeralda became a postulate with the Poor Clare Missionary Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. In an 2017 interview with Catholic News Agency, she says “I was very happy with everything I had, but it does not compare with the happiness that God now places in my heart.”
Read about two more beauty queens turned nuns here:
Twins at the Same Convent
How about twin sisters who found God was calling them to the same religious community? This past November, Sister Mary Clare and Sister Mary Robert celebrated 70 years as Franciscan Sisters. They entered the convent just one year apart from each other and spent most of their 70 years teaching children. In a joint interview, they said they “would not trade their vocation for anything.”
Artist
Florentine nun, Plautilla Nelli, lived during the Renaissance but because she was a woman, her talent was largely unrecognized and her paintings mostly stayed within the convent in which she lived. In the 1990s, a non-profit called Advancing Women Artists Foundation funded the 4 year restoration of a beautiful life size depiction of the Last Supper. The painting is finally on display in the church museum of Santa Maria Novella.
See her painting of the Last Supper close up here https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Plautilla_Nelli_-_The_Last_Supper_%28in_2019%29.jpg
Prayer Writer
Have you heard of the beautiful prayer The Litany of Trust? Perhaps you have a copy of it printed somewhere in your home. It was composed by Sister Faustina Maria Pia who is part of the Sisters of Life community in New York. In her ministry, she was often approached by strangers who were angry with God or thought God was angry with them. She ached for a way to show them the Love Christ has for them in a tangible way and so she wrote the Litany of Trust and now has prayer cards to hand out to those she encounters on the streets of New York City.
You can read what her big brother has to say about how this prayer came about and the actual prayer and read more about her/ the prayer in her newest co-authored book: Our Friend Faustina.
Order copies of the prayer card to share here https://orders.sistersoflife.org/collections/print/products/litany-of-trust
Ice Skater
Do nuns ice skate? Sister Catherine Holum does. Or rather she did: in the Olympics in 1998. After placing 6th and 7th in two speed skating events in the Winter Olympics, she retired from the sport, and after a few twists and turns, found herself at World Youth Day in Toronto. It was there that she remembered a call she had heard in Fatima as a teenager. God wanted her to be a sister. In 2003, she entered the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal community. She shares with others, “Do not be afraid of whatever God has in store for your life. Whatever he has created you to be, he is going to fill you with the most joy and happiness that you’ll ever experience.”
Read her entire inspirational story…
Actress
I bet you’ve heard of the actor Bill Murray. Did you know he is one of nine children? And that he was raised Catholic? And that one of his sisters is an Adrian Dominican Sister? She travels with her one woman show all about St. Catherine of Siena.
Heroine to Jews during WWII
On June 5th, 2016, Pope Francis canonized Sister Maria Elizabeth. Born in Sweden and raised as a Lutheran, St. Maria Elizabeth became Catholic at the age of 32, largely due her contact with those of the Catholic Faith while serving as a nurse in New York. She went on to found her own religious community in Sweden dedicated to the care of the sick. During WWII, her homes became a safe haven for Jews and others sought by the Nazis. Her dying words were “Go to Heaven with hands full of love and virtues.”
Singer
Ursaline nun, Sister Cristina of Sicily was prompted to compete on the popular TV show The Voice by the words of Pope Francis asking priests and nuns to ‘come out’ of their churches and convents and spread the word of God. Surprising everyone, she won the entire competition with 60% of the vote and then closed the finale by leading the audience and judges in the Lord’s Prayer.
Read more and see one of her performances…
Chef
Did you catch the episode of Chopped where Sr. Alicia Torres won, taking home 10,000 dollars for Our Lady of the Angels Mission? She is part of a new community called the Franciscans of the Eucharist. Members of the community have dedicated their lives to Eucharistic Adoration and service of the poor in Chicago. Sr. Torres has no formal culinary training but says, “The Lord gave me this talent. I believe the kitchen is my canvas where I get to express myself creatively.”
Inspired by Oprah
In 2010, The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist made a memorable appearance on the Oprah show during the final season. Their show proved to be the third most popular of the season and in 2015, when Oprah’s crew returned for an update, five women shared that the 2010 appearance of the Sisters on the Oprah Show had prompted their “Fiat” to God.
Cheese Maker
Many religious communities strive to be self-sustaining through the sale of products made on site. The Benedictin Nuns of the Abbey of Regina Laudis support themselves through a dairy farm. Mother Noella, who entered the abbey in ‘73 and then went on to earn a Ph.D in microbiology in the late ‘80s, is the head of cheese production. Examining the fungi that help create the various cheeses under a microscope sparks wonder and Mother Noella claims it to be ‘very sacred’ as it “puts you in touch with God’s creation.”
Read all about the Cheese Nun…
Atheist
Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble is a former Atheist who came back to the Faith and is now a Daughter of St. Paul. Raised in a very Catholic home, Sister questioned from a young age how a loving God could allow suffering. Her skeptical nature caused her to question everything and as a teenager, she decided God doesn’t exist. She became part of the ‘punk rock scene’ for several years. After a powerful encounter with the Eucharist, she realized that the Church of her childhood was True.
Sister wrote a book on inviting loved ones back to the Church.
Watch her story on the Journey Home:
From cheesemakers to singers, chefs and beauty queens, there is no one type of woman God calls to the religious life. Could Christ be calling you or someone in your family to be His beloved bride?
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