Catholic Vocation, Young Nuns

A report by Riazat Butt from The Guardian about young nuns:

Clare Ainsworth, 24, was at her cousin’s wedding in August. She had joined a convent in Norfolk the year before and this was the first time she had seen her wider family since leaving her home in Lancashire. “They were pleased I had made the decision but they were a bit disappointed. They said I had so much going for me… that there might be a nice lad waiting around the corner and didn’t I want kids?”

Clare is not alone in choosing poverty, chastity and obedience over careers, relationships and motherhood. She is one of a small but growing number of young women entering religious life. The trend is the subject of a BBC documentary, Young Nuns….

Why?

The Catholic church’s National Office for Vocations (NOV) says the age range of people showing an interest in entering the priesthood or becoming part of a religious community is getting younger. They are now 16-18, but 10 years ago they would have been 30 or 40. NOV’s Sister Cathy Jones has witnessed this change: “There seems to be a momentum but it’s quite difficult to get to the bottom of what’s motivating it. There are lots of young women inquiring. At Invocation they were as young as 16, going independently, saying they thought God was calling them. Of the 40 young women, 20 were very young.”

Before she researched Young Nuns, Mitchell assumed that the current generation of women would be looking for a more “relaxed” and “modern” style of religious life. “What was surprising was that most were actively seeking something much more traditional. They wanted a lifestyle radically and distinctively different to everyday life.” But, she adds, they didn’t meet the pious stereotype. The women had friends, strong family bonds and active social lives. They dated and had career prospects. “What surprised me was how much like me they were.”