Nun to Leave Convent for First Time in 84 Years to Meet the Pope
On Friday, a nun who has spent the last 84 years of her life within the confines of a convent in central Spain, north of Madrid, will venture out into the world in order to meet the Pope.
Sister Teresita, 103, entered the convent of Buenafuente del Sistal at the age of 19, on April 16, 1927, which is coincidentally the day that Joseph Ratzinger, now know as Pope Benedict XVI, was born.
Encouraged by her father to commit herself to a life of religious servitude in order to escape poverty, she has only left the convent grounds once. During the Spanish Civil War, between 1936 and 1939, the nuns fled the convent for a few hours to escape the fighting.
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However, on Friday she will travel 60 miles to Madrid, Spain in order to meet Pope Benedict, who is visiting the country to celebrate World Youth Day, a week-long Catholic festival that focuses on the world's youth.
"She said she thinks she will make the trip with her eyes closed, so that nothing will distract her," said the convent's mother superior, Maria.
The Daily Mail details that Sister Teresita has missed such events as the “Spanish miracle,” economic boom between 1959 and 1973, the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and the death of Pope John Paul II and election of Benedict XVI in 2005. The sister, however, does not consider her seclusion a burden.
"Who can spend 84 years in a convent without being happy? You feel happiness when you follow your vocation," she said.
Sister Teresita is also somewhat of a celebrity at Buenafuente del Sistal, having been the subject of a book called, "What Is A Girl Like You Doing In A Place Like That," by Jesus Garcia, which follows the lives of ten nuns in the convent.
