It could be a fascinating look inside a convent and revelatory about what it takes to be a nun. Or it could be the Kardashians in habits and wimples.
Three religious communities in the United States agreed to allow the Lifetime television channel film the discernment process of five young women in their 20s who spend six weeks at three convents trying to figure out if a life of chastity, poverty, and obedience is for them.
The first episode of “The Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns” airs at 10 p.m. (ET) Tuesday on the Lifetime channel.
(Crux will provide weekly recaps of each episode every Wednesday morning. Read the premiere episode recap.)
In tonight’s episode, the young women start their process at the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm in Germantown, N.Y.
Sister Maria Therese Healy, the Sisters’ director of vocations, told NorthJersey.com that the order believed that Lifetime and the production company “had good intentions to show the reality of religious life today. Everyone had the best intentions, and we felt very comfortable.”
Her community also felt that the series could potentially “reach a lot of women who may have questions about religious life.”
“We thought it was a timely way to get the word out there that we’re not extinct, we’re still around, and that many of us continue to live very faith-filled, committed lives serving the marginalized in our society.”
In future episodes, the young women also stay with the Daughters of St. Mary of Providence in Chicago, who work with disabled adults, and the Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker in Walton, Ky., who have a small Catholic school.
Did any of the five decide to continue the process of entering religious life? Lifetime won’t say, of course, and the young women aren’t talking. All we know from the preview video is that the five appear to have a tough time giving up their cellphones and makeup, and struggle with what is certainly a momentous decision. Let’s see.
