Number of women wanting to become nuns triples

  • Religion
Credit: PA

The number of women in Britain wanting to become nuns has reached a 25-year high.

Figures from the Catholic Church show those joining the sisterhood has tripled in the past five years from 15 in 2009 to 45 in 2014.

This is in comparison to just seven women who wanted to take their holy vows in 2004.

Experts say women are being drawn to become nuns because there is a "gap in the market for meaning in our culture" which the religious life offers.

Theodora Hawksley, 29, was until recently a postdoctoral researcher in theology at the University of Edinburgh.

But at the beginning of the year she decided to bid farewell to her friends in Scotland and career as an academic, and begin her training to become a nun.

Theodora Hawksley is training to become a nun at 29. Credit: PA

She joined the Congregation of Jesus in January and is now living in their house in Willesden, north London, while taking the first steps towards making vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

Explaining why she chose to become a nun, Ms Hawksley, originally from Hertfordshire, said: "In one sense it is a bit like trying to explain to somebody why you are marrying the person you are. You can list their qualities, but in the end it is a relationship of love.

"But on the other hand, I was drawn to it by wanting a greater freedom in being able to give myself to God and the world.

"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."

And she is not the only young woman choosing religious life. According to church figures, 14 out of the 45 women who entered convents this year were aged 30 or under.

Sister Cathy Jones, religious life vocations promoter at the National Office for Vocation, said the work nuns do is not as visible now as in formative years but more likely to be behind doors as counsellors for trafficked women, for example.

Former BBC political reporter Martina Purdy became a nun last year. Credit: PA

Last year, BBC Northern Ireland political reporter Martina Purdy quit her 25-year career in journalism to become a nun, entering the Adoration Sisters last October.

In a statement posted on her Twitter page explaining her decision, she said: "I know many people will not understand this decision. It is a decision I have not come to lightly, but it is one I make with love and great joy."