Scottish Catholic Observer

The number of women becoming nuns in England and Wales has tripled over the last five years, reaching a 25-year high.

A total 45 women took religious vows last year compared with 15 in 2009, according to figures from the Church. Fourteen of those were aged 30 or under. The number of women pursuing vocations is now at its highest since the 1980s.

Fr Christopher Jamison, director of the National Office for Vocation of England and Wales, said that there is ‘a gap in the market for meaning in our culture’ and that ‘one of the ways women may find that meaning is through religious life.’

Theodora Hawksley, 29, is one such women, a former postdoctoral researcher in theology at Edinburgh University who joined the Congregation of Jesus in January. She said she was drawn to the greater freedom offered and being able to give herself to God and the world. “In one sense it is a bit like trying to explain to somebody why you are marrying the person you are,” she said. “You can list their qualities, but in the end it is a relationship of love.

“I don’t have to worry now about practical things like making a career for myself. I’m free to go where I’m needed and meet people at the margins.”

The number of women becoming nuns has risen over the last decade, from a low of seven in 2004. 63 people in total entered religious life in England and Wales last year. Among them were 18 men, down from 30 in 2012.

As of October 2013, there were 388 sisters in Scotland – down from 444 in 2011 – and 46 brothers.

—[email protected]