A nun garbed in the traditional full-length habit and medieval headpiece and veil is guaranteed to provoke a variety of queries and comments from people of all ages, but especially youngsters. Children want to know if we have ears, and whether or not we sleep in all those clothes. Teenagers hold the record for asking whether or not we shave our heads, or die of boredom without any rock or rap music.

So what is a nun anyway? An angel? An alien from another planet? An endangered species? Ask a little child seeing one for the first time, and we are all of the above and more! It is quite amusing for us to walk into a grocery store, down a park lane, or into a doctor’s office, and meet the baffled look of some tiny tot. That look is a warning... we know to prepare ourselves for what will follow. Adults, of course, are too polite to blurt out their first impressions so candidly. Their thoughts usually remain unspoken. Oh, but a child! — How does that Scripture passage go: “out of the mouth of babes....”? After the puzzled expression the child invariably turn to Mom or Dad and asks in a tone loud enough for all in the vicinity to hear (as the adult blushes and tries unsuccessfully to quiet “Junior”): “What is it?” or “Look, Mom, an angel!” (Or princess, or fairy, or Mary!)

Of course, not all children have such flattering definitions. We have also been identified as monsters! One unsuspecting Sister was even thought to be Barney, the lovable purple dinosaer. But all it takes is a friendly smile and a cheery “hello,” and the child is brought in touch with reality... Nuns are human, after all. What is a Nun but a bit of heaven, a bit of earth, a bit of an anomaly to the world of today. It is our hope that we can help make the link between the two more tangible to folks like you.

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