The face is now framed in white, her body is robed in the voluminous brown Poor Clares’ habit, with a black veil. In Medjugorje with her friend Maura, who also later entered the Poor Clares, she had an intense religious experience. While others built relationships, careers, families, homes – while Ireland changed immeasurably – Sr Colette had a parallel existence behind walls. Though enclosure cuts off past lives, Poor Clares leave the convent for “useful, evident, reasonable or approved purposes”: medical appointments, courses, voting. That’s painful.”“There’s a legend in Galway, if you hear the Poor Clares’ bell that they’re desperate or something.

Source: The Irish Times June 06, 2021 05:15 UTC