One beautiful Spanish city is desperate for women to move to it, but there’s a catch.
Those wanting to move to Malaga and enjoy free accommodation will have to become nuns at the city’s convent of the Discalced Carmelites of Ronda, which is facing a sister shortage.
The convent has been threatened with closure by the Vatican which says it will not return its greatest treasure the incorrupt hand of Saint Teresa of Jesus, until it gains two new nuns.
An advert for the posts says the convent needs the sisters “as soon as possible” to persuade the Vatican, which has not given a timescale to find them, to keep the convent open.
Vatican rules state that cloistered congregations must have a minimum of six nuns.
Just two years ago the Discalced Carmelites of Ronda had nine nuns in its congregation, but the Covid-19 pandemic and a succession of deaths have left just four sisters, one of whom is suffering from Alzheimer’s.
Sisters at the convent have guarded their prized relic, Saint Teresa’s left hand, since 1924, the year the convent opened, reports Olive Press.
During the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Republican soldiers took the limb away, but following General Franco’s death in 1975, the artefact was returned to the nuns.
According to the convent it has already seen interest from several young women who have enquired about the availability of the roles, but the prioress of the convent has stated that prospective nuns must have a CV including substantial previous experience.
The lucky applicant will be able to enjoy a sunkissed life in the convent, with temperatures in Malaga currently topping 20C.
On rare outings, the new nuns will be able to enjoy the city’s stunning architecture such as the Alcazaba fortress, Castillo de Gibralfaro castle and Teatro Romano de Malaga, the Malaga’s oldest monument.
