This summer the Sisters in Aberdeen were interviewed for a local newspaper, The Press and Journal. Here are some extracts from the article that appeared in the newspaper:
I first learned that a community of nuns live on High Street, Old Aberdeen, when, one morning, they burned their toast. As a smoke alarm shattered the usual tranquillity of the cobbled streets, I spotted two sisters waving a tea towel at their ceiling while the smell of charred bread drifted onto the pavement.
My curiosity piqued, an email was sent. To my surprise, the Apostolic Sisters of St John replied, and a cup of tea with the sisters, in their garden, was scheduled.
It’s a typically overcast day when I arrive in Old Aberdeen to meet Sister Francesca and Sister Claire. By the time I find a place to park, our photographer is already working his magic. He has the sisters grinning in the middle of the city’s beautiful conservation area.
Over their shoulders, you can just about see Aberdeen University. It’s a place they spend a lot of time ministering to and supporting students.
Their grey habits, coloured socks and sandals, brighten up the historic granite streets. My first impression of these two women, who represent half their small community, is that they exude nothing but light and warmth.
Sister Claire, 57, was studying engineering at university in France when she first sensed a call to religious life.
Originally from Angers, she explained: “I come from a Catholic family, but my faith wasn’t very personal. During my studies, I became friends with other young people who were Catholic. We joined a Bible study organised by the university chaplain, and I really enjoyed it. “It was there I learned more, and really started to practise my faith. I got a taste for prayer and began to love to pray.”
But it was a pilgrimage to Poland that really sealed the deal for Sister Claire.
“I was 23 when I decided to enter into religious life. When I realised there was a way to serve that was both contemplative and active, I decided to enter. “The certainty came after spending time just focusing on God, in prayer.”
American-Filipino nun Sister Francesca, 37, grew up in Florida and first felt drawn to religious life as a young adult.
The Apostolic Sisters are an offshoot of the Brothers of St John. Sister Francesca was introduced to members of that community – a French order – which had an American presence since the 80s, as a teenager.
“I was maybe 15 or 16 when I went on a retreat to Illinois. I was in my last year of school and was genuinely wondering what I was going to do. “I began praying and asking God what He wanted me to do with my life. “I remember being like, ‘God… if you even want me to go across the world and pick up rubbish, I’ll do it… And I meant it with all my heart.”
“There was no real thought of becoming a nun,” she laughs. “My only reference to nuns at that point was The Sound of Music and Sister Act!
“But this sort of inner thought kept coming to me: ‘How about a nun?’ I thought, no! Anything but that. “I kept praying. It was funny… I had a lot of fears but at the same time peace. I knew this thought of becoming a nun didn’t come from me.”
Sister Francesca went to university “as expected” but partway through switched her major to theology. “I was hooked!” she says, beaming. “And the more I met other sisters, the more the fears were dispelled. Their joy was captivating. “The desire in me kept growing, and at 22 I made the decision to enter religious life.”
For both sisters, the process of leaving their old lives behind was not a quick one.
There was first a time of formation, which lasts two years, then temporary vows can be taken, lasting two years. These vows are renewed for at least two years before final vows.
For the sisters, their final – or perpetual vows – which include vows of poverty and chastity – were taken at the age of 28 for Sister Claire, and 29 for Sister Francesca. As we chat in the enclosed garden of their High Street home, I can tell joy – despite this life of modesty – is in no short supply.
“It’s a very happy, fulfilling life,” Sister Francesca says. “But it would be wrong of me to pretend it’s always easy. It is a life of sacrifice.”
To read the full article and discover more of the life and mission of the Sisters in Aberdeen, visit : https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/lifestyle/7082802/meet-the-nuns-of-old-aberdeen/
Les sœurs sont venues en Écosse en 2019. Depuis leur arrivée, elles servent l’Église d’Aberdeen à travers une variété de ministères pastoraux et missionnaires. Elles travaillent dans l’aumônerie des étudiants des universités d’Aberdeen et ont différentes missions dans les paroisses.
