Watch: Maltese Nurse Explains Why She Became A Nun – ‘I Had Everything In Life But Felt A Massive Void’
A 37-year-old Maltese nurse has said she decided to become a nun because she felt a great emptiness within her that no material item could fill.
Interviewed by Church media house Newsbook as she prepares to take her vows this weekend, Sr Ramona Privitelli* said she used to have “everything but nothing” at the same time.
“I had a good job with a good salary and a nice car, I used to enjoy going out and going on holiday and I had relationships with men… I had everything in the eyes of the world but I also had this huge void within me that nothing could fill.”
Sr Privitelli said her life changed following a 2012 voluntary experience in Ethiopia, which forced her to live without her phone and other material items.
Sr Ramona Privitelli with her family after her university graduation
“Living with other youths among poor people who I didn’t know, completely cut off from the rest of the world, that void was finally filled.”
A few months later, she embarked upon the process of becoming a nun, a nine-year journey that will culminate this weekend.
She will join the Sisters of Charity, a decision she took due to a desire to work among all sectors of society, and continue working as a nurse at Karin Grech Hospital.
“My life will continue as it was after this weekend but spiritually, I will be taking a huge step forward.”
Sr Ramona Privitelli with two other young nuns
Sr Privitelli said God ultimately wants people to discover the meaning of their own lives.
“God just wants us to be happy,” she said. “If a young person is called to live a religious life, they shouldn’t fear it. They should speak to someone to guide them but if God is truly calling them, it’s the novelist thing that could happen to your life.”
Cover photo and photos: From Newsbook interview with Sr Ramona Privitelli
*An earlier version of the article mistakingly referred to the nun as Sr Ramona Privitelli
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