A nun, a priest and their vows

Life Changing

BBC

Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.6 • 735 Ratings

🗓️ 24 November 2021

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Catherine Butler-Burns decided to become a nun aged 17. It was a shock to her parents, they weren’t especially religious by Irish standards of the time and until then Catherine had been having a lively teenage social life. But she chose to take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience because the women she saw “saving the world” were nuns.

Catherine took on a role teaching speech and drama at a Catholic school in Scotland where she met a priest called Father Michael. There was evidently an emotional connection between them but it was never openly acknowledged.

She lived and worked as a nun for 42 years then - aged 60 - she made a momentous decision. And what would become of the love that had been stifled for nearly thirty years?

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Image: Catherine Butler-Burns Credit: Catherine Butler-Burns

Transcript

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0:43.2	Hello. Now, I think 17 is probably quite young to make a life-changing decision.
0:48.8	But my guest today decided at that very tender age that she was going to become a nun.
0:51.3	Now, her family wasn't particularly religious. None of her close relations had taken vows of poverty, obedience and
0:55.7	chastity, but she was sure this was the path for her, and off she went. So what would become
1:02.7	of that teenager? Let's meet her. She is Catherine Butler Burns. She's not a teen anymore. She's
1:09.3	originally from Ireland, but now lives in Edinburgh.
1:12.5	Catherine, hello. Oh, good morning, Jane. Thank you so much for doing this. Well, it's a privilege
1:17.7	to meet you. Well, I guess it must be. What, who am I kidding? Whereabouts in Ireland are you
1:22.5	from me? I know you were born in Dublin. I'm a true dub. Are you? Right. Southside. Tell me about the family.
1:28.6	Mum was a stay-at-home mum.
1:30.1	She had been a theatre sister in private nursing in Scotland.
1:34.6	And she came on holiday, met Dad.
1:37.9	So we always had that sense of being both Scottish and Irish.
1:42.6	I suppose we were giving values at home more than religion.
	...

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