My mum was a nun!
This is a story I’ve occasionally bandied about, and it’s high time I provided some sort of proof to back it up. After all, there’s no small amount of stature associated with being a Nun’s son, so I better be telling the truth 🙂
So here we go…
Look at her! That was taken on June 9, 1961, when mum was all of 16 years old. On the morning of this day she rode a train with her parents from Broadmeadow (not far from where she lives now) to Singleton, where the convent was, to join The Sisters Of Mercy. She was welcomed by a Nun that was once her schoolteacher. On that day mum shed her worldly name and became a postulant of the order. She would now be called Sister Mary Margaret.
What was life like as a postulant? Mum’s memories sound mostly positive, but to me the life seems tough. Lots of prayer, meditation and work (cleaning, gardening, washing). Each day was regimented and the various tasks occurred at specific times (controlled by a bell) and discipline and silence were both enforced. She recalls the days were long and tiring, but the time passed quickly and she was happy.
Six months have passed, and mum had now completed the postulancy period and was officially admitted into the order in December 1961. Here Sister Mary Salvio (mum had a new name by now) shows off her ‘Bride of Christ’ dress, which was on loan from a cousin. Mum’s comments on this picture recall that the nun’s had ‘vandalized’ it since it was too immodest initially 🙂
The above is a shot of Veronica and Reginald Sheeley (my grandparents) with their 17 year old daughter Sister Mary Salvio. I particularly like this photo. I’ll follow this with another shot taken on the same day (I assume):
The above shot (in colour!) shows Sister Mary Salvio (aka. ‘mum’!) with a friend of hers, Sister Marie Madeline. You can see the difference between the garments mum is wearing here and those of her postulancy, notably the veil over the Wimple. I don’t know why her friend has a black veil compared to mum’s white, but I assume it’s a sign of seniority. (Some quick research online seems to suggest Sisters Of Mercy always wore black veils, so again I don’t know why mum’s is white).
“The cake?” you ask? I don’t know! I do love how they displayed it on that beautifully crocheted tablecloth on that richly varnished table. I’m guessing the event was something special 🙂
Fast forward a few years for the above shot. It’s now 1963, and mum is 19 and now a junior professed sister (and now, mysteriously, wears a black veil). The new title means she’s taken temporary vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, which will last for two years until her final vows would be taken in 1965. At this point mum qualified to become a teacher, which is important since the Sisters of Mercy order is known (worldwide) for opening and running schools. Mum would receive some training, and then start working at a primary school.
These photos cover a scant 2.5 years, but I can only imagine how important they were to mum as a young girl. She’s provided me with snippets of memories, but the questions that remain unanswered are uncountable. Chief among them would be: “Why does a 16-year-old girl enter the convent?”, or more specifically “Why did *you* enter the convent?”
Mum suggested to me that during my next visit I interview her for the answers, and I think this is a good idea. So some time in the future you can expect an update. But in the short term there will be a few more photos, as well as some more memories, of mum’s days as a nun-teacher, and her eventual departure from the convent. Stay tuned!
I’m wondering who is the man standing with her in last photo.
That’s my uncle Terry, younger than I am now 🙂
Mum has 4 brothers. I think she was in the middle and Terry was the 2nd oldest. Maybe.
I wonder if Uncle Terry reads this blog. Dad – please direct him to this post!!
Great I really believe you would write a better account of my memories than me. When you come in January you can interview me. I have more photos.