"Stop being a nuisance and join the nuns" - How these words inspired a young woman to become a Cistercian. She is now the world's longest serving nun!

Sister Teresita is 103 years old and has spent 84 of those years as a cloistered nun - making her the Church's longest serving religious contemplative. She joined the Cistercian convent of Buenafuente de Sistal, in Guadalajara, Spain, as an 19-year-old on 16 April 1927 - which, coincidentally, was the same day that Pope Benedict XVI was born. To mark her extraordinary achievement, the Pope plans to meet Sister Teresita when he travels to Spain for World Youth Day this coming August.

According to Rome Reports, which has a video interview with the 103-year-old, Sister Teresita asked God to give her a religious vocation because she wanted to please her father. In the report, Sister Teresita described the events that led up to her call, thus:

“My father said 'The nuns are very good'. I didn't know what this had in store for me. I was thinking that the nuns didn't do any work. And one day my mother scolded me and my father said, 'why don't you stop being a nuisance and join the nuns'? And I said with all my heart: 'Lord, help me to please my father, give me a religious vocation.'”

Explaining her response to God's promptings, Sister Teresita recalls the events in a refreshingly matter-of-fact way, saying:

“I arrived a bit ignorant because I didn't know much about nuns. I was a normal village girl, I use to go to Mass each week, and pray the rosary in May, but I knew nothing about nuns. I came because the Lord called me. I heard His call and I came to respond to His calling, coming here without knowing where it came from or where it was taking me.”

When asked whether she was happy, the jovially no-nonsense nun replied, saying:

“Happy? How could I not be happy? If I were not happy, I wouldn't be here. Could someone be here for 84 years without being happy? It's not possible! It never occurred to me to come here without a calling.”

She also added that her vocation is grounded in prayer, emphasising our need to live our lives in constant communication with God. Sister Teresita also added that whenever she feels she might have failed to live up to her calling she simply asks for God's forgiveness and then carries on living according to His will.

During his visit to Spain next month, Pope Benedict XVI will be meeting young religious sisters at El Escorial. Amongst the nuns who will be there to meet the Holy Father will be the not so young, but very young at heart, Sister Teresita. I am sure it will be a very happy day for both these committed followers of Jesus Christ.

To watch the report on Sister Teresita, please see Rome Reports.

[Image: A still from the Rome Reports video, showing Sister Teresita]