What is it like to live without sex for over three decades? For Sister Gabriel, a Poor Clare Franciscan nun from Arundel, England, it’s a question she meets with refreshing honesty. Having devoted 30 years of her life to a cloistered order, she lives a life of prayer and work within her monastery’s walls. But before taking her vows, she led a strikingly different life as an aeronautical and mechanical engineer, and she still enjoys the occasional bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale. This blend of worldly experience and deep faith makes her perspective on celibacy uniquely grounded.
When asked directly if abstaining from sex is difficult, Sister Gabriel doesn’t shy away. “It can be hard,” she confesses, explaining that the challenge ebbs and flows at different moments in life. She frames her choice not as a lack, but as a channeling of love into a different form. Her capacity to love, she says, simply “grows and grows and grows,” finding expression in her community, her prayer, and her connection to God. The sacrifice is real, but it is part of a larger, fulfilling exchange.
Her humanity shines through when asked about lighter topics, like celebrity crushes. With a giggle, she admits to enjoying films and appreciating the beauty of actors and the stories they tell. She cites the movie A Star is Born, specifically praising Bradley Cooper’s “great eyes” as something she could stare into. This moment reveals a nun who, while committed to her vows, remains fully engaged with the world’s art and beauty, experiencing admiration in a way that is both relatable and chaste.
Sister Gabriel also addresses the heaviest question with courage: the scandals of abuse and corruption within the Catholic Church. Her response is immediate and unequivocal. “Well, I’m ashamed of that,” she states, expressing deep sorrow and a heartfelt apology to the victims. She emphasizes the need for victims to be heard and cared for, framing her prayer as an active form of solidarity with those who have been harmed by the institution she calls home.
Ultimately, Sister Gabriel’s story complicates the stereotype of the isolated, austere nun. She presents a picture of a whole person—one who has made a profound sacrifice but who also enjoys a beer, critiques cinema, and grapples with her church’s failings. Her life of celibacy isn’t a story of repression, but one of redirected passion, where love expands in unexpected directions and a deep, abiding faith coexists with a very human heart.
