Since the release of “If Nuns Ruled the World: Ten Sisters on a Mission” this fall, author Jo Piazza says that she receives a new note from a different Catholic nun nearly every time she checks her email.
“It’s a lot of ‘Thank you for telling this story that hasn’t been told yet. Thank you for acknowledging us,’” says Piazza, whose book was recently featured at a literary salon hosted by the New York Foundling and author Aidan Donnelley Rowley. “And that’s the part that sort of breaks my heart.”
The author says that traveling with and getting to know each of the 10 sisters she profiles in the book taught her just how misunderstood and stereotyped nuns were, by both the Catholic community and the general population. “I’m a very healthy and open-minded agnostic,” saysPiazza, who attended Catholic schools growing up. “I think I love the nuns so much because they don’t wear their religion on their sleeves, they just practice it.”
Piazza shared some of the other things she learned while writing the book with Metro.
Nuns are not meek: When you think of a Catholic nun, you probably don’t picture a woman who volunteers as an abortion clinic escort or a woman in jail for protesting against nuclear weapons. But those are just two examples of women Piazza met with while writing her book. “These are the women who are the very first feminists,” says Piazza. “They were running colleges, they were running hospitals. They have amazing careers.”
Nuns love a certain Comedy Central star: “Nuns love Stephen Colbert,” dishes Piazza, which should be no surprise as the late-night host is well known for teaching Sunday school at his local church. Other things the nuns raved to Piazza about are red wine, cats and baseball.
Nuns are not just teachers: Piazza says she hears all the time from former Catholic school students who complain about the times they were hit with rulers in class. “It’s mostly men that say that, too. And then I just say, ‘Did you deserve it? You probably were a little jerk, weren’t you?’” she says. “That’s one of the myths about nuns that people like to say. And it’s not true; it’s a stereotype. All of the nuns I know are just loving, dynamic women.”
Follow Lakshmi Gandhi on Twitter @LakshmiGandhi.
