A nun, a priest and their vows

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