I’ll tell you this much. I’ve known some nuns. From the time I was seven years old until I turned eighteen, nuns were in my life nearly every day.
I liked some of them more than others. But most of them, especially during my grade school years, seemed troubled. Preoccupied. Sad. I suppose a nun had a lot on her mind under that habit back then.
But jump back to the 17th century. There, you will find some truly troubled nuns.
First, let me tell you about a place. It is called the Aragonese Castle of Ischia. It is highly unique, as it stands on a tidal volcanic islet. This is connected to the main island of Ischia only by a causeway. (Ischia is an Italian island, FYI.)
This old castle has many rooms inside, but one of them contains a whole world of creepiness. All because of its history.
But before I get to that, here is a little history of the building itself. The castle was constructed starting in 1441 by King Alfonso V of Aragon. And then, much later, between the 16th and 18th centuries, almost 2,000 families lived here because it was the only place protected against pirates, and the castle saw many different owners and purposes over the ages.
But now to our story.
In the 17th century, it became home to a convent of an order of nuns called the Poor Clares. This made me chuckle. It reminded me of Debbie Downers. The Order of Debbie Downers and Poor Clares.
Anyway.
If you go to the castle today, in the underground cemetery of the Poor Clares, you can see the remains of a gruesome tradition.
When a nun died, her lifeless body was placed in a sitting position on a stone chair with a hole in it and left to mummify. The bodies slowly decomposed. Gravity ensued, and the liquids were collected in special vessels located under the seats. The skeletons were later collected in an ossuary (which is a room in which the bones of dead people are placed).
But, while those dead nuns were sitting on their death chairs, draining, the still-living nuns visited that room to sit and to pray and meditate on death and the temporary earthly life of the nun.
Spending several hours in such an unhealthy place, the nuns often contracted serious illnesses, which in some cases were deadly.
And the cycle continued.
I can’t really imagine why they would do such a thing. And I don’t know whatever happened to this branch of Poor Clares. I’m sure they all just died and faded away.
But, as an order, there were over 20,000 Poor Clare nuns in over 75 countries throughout the world as of 2011.
I think the ones in the castle were the only ones with the death chair thing. Maybe.
Anyway, it sounds very troubling to me.
I sort of feel sorry for nuns. I don’t know any nuns now. But as I mentioned, when I did, they seemed unhappy. Bitter. Hard.
Mostly, I hope our human energy moves on. I hope it transcends and elevates to other realms. And if it does, I hope all those nuns are in a good place without suffering.
I wish this for all good humans.
I do.
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“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.” – Henry David Thoreau
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“The best things in life are unseen, that’s why we close our eyes when we kiss, cry, and dream.” – Unknown
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“The soul is here for its own joy.” – Rumi
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The draining life of nuns. Well, draining the dead right out of them.
