Olympic Speed Skater Becomes Franciscan Sister

Aleteia, Jaime Septien: Kirstin Holum was an American speed skater in the Olympic Games of Nagano in 1998. Sister Catherine is a nun of the order of the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal, who lives and prays in the Convent of Santa Clara, in Leeds, England. Kirstin and Sister Catherine are the same person — but with very different habits.

In an NBC article profiling Sister Catherine and other young Catholic sisters in the UK, Sister Catherine describes her choice as “radical” and “countercultural.” She lives in a convent without an internet connection or television. “We don’t have all those distractions,” Sister Catherine told NBC News, referring to the world of media, social networks, and the internet. Story is here.