A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent. The term is often used interchangeably with religious sisters who do take simple vows but live an active vocation of prayer and charitable work.
While faith has always been important to Catherine, 26, she did not always plan on joining a religious order.
“I’d had this dream of getting married and having seven children – you know, proper Catholic, you need to have lots of babies, right? – and little dogs and chickens, all of that,” she says.
Growing up a Catholic and working for the local diocese, she had spent some time with the women she now sees as family. She initially had doubts about joining them, working instead as an au pair in Austria.
Shortly after the first Covid lockdown, Sister Catherine joined the convent of The Community of Our Lady of Walsingham, based in a converted barn.
Sister Catherine firmly believes in the life she has chosen, although she still has the option to leave her habit behind.
“I have not yet made permanent vows. You have about seven years – maximum of 10, really – to decide if this is something you want to commit to for life,” she explains.
In Christianity, nuns are found in the Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, and Anglican and some Presbyterian traditions, as well as other Christian denominations.
