Sister Italia 2008

I can think of much better ways to let people know the wonderful work that nuns do. I have a feeling that the nuns I know wouldn't be in favor of this idea, but maybe I'm wrong.

Anyhow, an Italian priest who planned an online beauty contest for nuns in September called Miss Sister 2008 and spoke to the press about it now has his blog down.

Father Rungi said: “Nuns are women above all else, and beauty is a gift from God.” He told Corriere della Sera that it was the nuns themselves who had suggested the idea while helping him to run prayer services on the beach. He said: “Many have assured me they will take part.” Father Rungi conceded that he risked being seen as a publicity seeker, but added: “You need a bit of courage to do something like this. Nuns deserve much more attention than they get.”

Nuns had both “physical and spiritual beauty”, he said, and often did social, caring or hospital work in which an “attractive presence” was an advantage. The Sister Italia 2008 contest was a way of showing that female beauty was “not just the plasticised beauty you see on television. There is also such a thing as a chaste ideal, which comes from the heart and the soul, and has a beneficial effect on those who come into contact with it.”

He admitted that not all Catholics were in favour of the idea. “I have had some e-mails from Christians who perhaps have not grasped the evangelising spirit of the initiative, or the potential of the internet, which is a marvellous tool for spreading the Christian message. Unfortunately, some people still have a closed mentality”.

There is no equivalent contest in Italy for priests. However, for the past four years a calendar featuring handsome young priests and seminarians posing against Rome landmarks has been a bestseller at newspaper kiosks.

via www.timesonline.co.uk