The Internet's Top Questions About Nuns

What are some of your questions about nuns? When do religious sisters retire? How do they get their names? What’s the difference between nuns and sisters? (…Is there a difference?). These are the most-asked questions about nuns and religious sisters—according to the internet—and Sr. Mary Grace and Sr. Marie Veritas of the Sisters of Life are here to answer them for you!

Do nuns or sisters have cell phones?

Nope! Some communities and orders might have personal cell phones, but Sr. Mary Grace and Sr. Marie Veritas do not. “We have a landline,” Sr. Mary Grace says. “We also have mission-shared cell phones, but not personal ones,” Sr. Marie Veritas explains.

Do sisters still exist?

Yes! “It is a good question,” Sr. Mary Grace says, “Because growing up, I had no idea that sisters were still around. I thought they were an extinct species or something.” Clearly not! Sisters are still around!

Why are sisters only female?

This is an important question about nuns and sisters. “If you read all through Scripture,” Sr. Marie Veritas says, “God talks about how he is the bridegroom to Israel. It is a love story between the bridegroom and the bride. The Church is the new Israel. As sisters, we are an image of the Church. We are brides of Christ! We are female.” Sr. Mary Grace adds, “Mary is the model for religious life. She is a woman in every single way. We imitate her role in letting God into the world as women, which is such a gift and privilege.”

How do sisters get their names?

This is one of the most interesting questions about nuns and sisters. It is a mystery, but God does it! “We take new names when we enter, which is such a gift!” Sr. Mary Grace says. “To be honest, I didn’t have a thought what name God was going to call me. When I entered the convent, God literally put a new name on my heart. Very simply and clearly, he put the words ‘Mary Grace’ on my heart.” Sr. Mary Grace knows this name comes from the gift of her natural mother and the Blessed Mother. In God naming her this, she recognizes that God is calling her to imitate the Blessed Mother in a certain way. “It really comes through prayer and discernment,” Sr. Marie Veritas adds. “It is pretty awesome.”

Can sisters drive?

Yup! Sisters can drive. “We drive a lot,” Sr. Mary Grace says. “And depending on your mission, you might actually get around a lot.” “I love to drive,” Sr. Marie Veritas adds.

Why are nuns called sisters?

This is a good clarification question about nuns! Nuns are different from religious sisters. Nuns refer only to cloistered women who stay in a convent and spend their lives praying for the world. Women who are religious and help people in the world are called ‘sisters.’ “You probably see more sisters in public,” Sr. Mary Grace says. “We live both lives. We have a contemplative life and an apostolic life. That means lots of prayer and lots of gifts of service!”

What do sisters eat? What is your favorite food?

They eat any food you and I eat! “We eat 3 meals a day, and the gift of living in community is we usually eat those 3 meals together. When I entered, I thought that was a total waste of time. But now, after prayer, it’s the highlight of my day! I get to sit down with my sisters and share a meal and talk,” says Sr. Mary Grace. “I love cereal,” Sr. Marie Veritas says, “And ice cream.”

How do sisters make money?

It is different in every order of sisters, but generally, sisters rely totally on God’s providence for their needs. Those in religious life often rely on people to donate money, food, and necessary items to them. This is how the Sisters of Life live. “It’s vulnerable! It’s risky! You are totally dependent on God, and yet it is also so surprising,” Sr. Mary Grace says. “You see God more clearly in people when you have a space for people to provide and you actually need them.”

Do sisters marry Jesus?

Yes! “We do! It’s really true,” Sr. Marie Veritas says. This is why sisters often wear veils; they are married to Jesus. “We wear rings, too,” Sr. Mary Grace adds. Not all sisters do, but it is a sign that they do get married. “We are here because we have fallen in love with Jesus,” Sr. Mary Grace says. “Jesus has called each one of us in a particular way to belong totally to him, and he satisfies every element of the female heart and soul. . .My desire for marriage is actually met in Jesus.”

When do sisters retire?

In some ways, sisters retire when they enter the convent. Sisters don’t make money and do not have a career to build. “When sisters get older and can’t do the things they had been doing, it isn’t retirement. It is more a deepening of their prayer,” Sr. Marie Veritas says. “You can’t stop being a bride of Jesus. That is your identity.” Rather than retiring from the everyday life of being a sister, sisters often just deepen their prayer lives and grow more fully into living as a bride of Christ.

Are sisters only Catholic?

Most sisters are Catholic. “There are some Orthodox nuns,” Sr. Marie Veritas says. “They have religious life in their tradition, too. There are also Anglican sisters.”

Why do sisters wear habits?

This is one of the most common questions about nuns and sisters. There are multiple reasons sisters wear habits, but the most important reason is that this is their wedding dress. “I can wear my wedding dress every day! It is a sign that I am married to Jesus,” Sr. Marie Veritas says. It is also a sign of poverty, she adds. “These are my clothes. I don’t go shopping. I don’t go to 5th Avenue. We actually make our habits. It is a sign of real poverty and totally belonging to the Lord in every way.”

Habits also put the call of every human heart on display. “When we go out in public,” Sr. Mary Grace says, “When people look at us, they are reminded of the truth that they are created for an intimate union with God. This isn’t reserved for religious. It is the destiny of every human heart. God loves you so much that he wants to be wedded to your soul. For some of us, we live that now on earth. But every single one of us is called to a deep, intimate communion with God.”

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