LEoNIE RIDDICK
At 26 years old, Leonie Riddick had it all. She had a fabulous career as a doctor, and always expected to get married and have children. But the Whakatane woman felt she had a higher calling.”I did think I’d eventually get married, but God was calling me in a different direction,” explains Leonie.
For Leonie, that direction was towards becoming a nun – something she had literally dreamed of in her teenage years. “I was only 17 and I had a week when I was continually dreaming about nuns. They were in my head all the time. I was on edge and barely slept. I realised I had two options – to check myself into hospital or to pray.”
Leonie, who was brought up Catholic, began praying for the dreams to end if God wanted her to become a nun – and they stopped immediately. “I thought, ‘oh, what have I just promised to do?’ But then God and I don’t do subtle!” With her mind set on becoming a nun, Leonie began looking for the right religious order to join but didn’t immediately find one that “clicked”.
Then, while on holiday in the United States last year, Leonie discovered the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of oatara, a community of nuns who work as missionaries in countries like Iraq. “I had an argument with God aboutwhether or not I should approach them, and as two of the sisters left, I ran after them and said I was only in the country for a few more days. They said I needed to stay in their community. I immediately recognised this was where I was meant to be. I felt like crying with joy – everything made sense.”
Leonie was accepted by the order and the next step was to change from career girl to nun, which meant quitting her job as a hospital doctor and selling her belongings.
“The logical part of me was saying, ‘What am I doing? I’m selling everything I own and moving to America to a community I’ve only spent days with!’ But I knew it was the right thing to do,” she says.
Although she has her extensive medical training and experience as a doctor, that’s not what Leonie will do once she’s a nun. “We take vows of obedience – I’ll go where my superiors tell me. They may use my medical skills but they might use me as a teacher instead, and I accept that. It would make me sad not to do surgery ever again, but you have to be willing to give up everything to follow God.
“I may not be getting everything I’d planned for – like a husband and a family – but I’m gaining so much more.”
oEGAN FoWLER
Being poor, single and dressed in drab clothes for the rest of your life might sound like hell to most young women – but not to Megan Fowler.
This Christchurch 26-year-old is about to enter a religious community to become a nun, which will require her to take vows of poverty and chastity.
The huge transformation has already started for Megan. She’s quit her career as a traffi c engineer, given away most of her possessions and will leave her friends and family behind in New Zealand to start her new life at a convent in France.
From the moment she becomes part of the order, Megan will trade in her current wardrobe for brown and white clothing, eventually moving on to the nun’s habit after four years. “The white symbolises purity and the brown is for the wood of the cross and the earth,” she explains. In her complete devotion to God, Megan will give up her name and be given a saint’s one instead. “It’s not for the fainthearted,” smiles Megan. “But I’m looking towards being a completely celibate sister.”
Megan’s never been involved sexually with someone. “I know it’s not common for someone my age, but it’s a decision I made a long time ago. If you asked me how I felt about not ever being a mum, I’d say that it’scertainly a sacrifice.”
Megan says she felt the calling when she visited the Beatitude community of nuns in New Caledonia on a church mission in 2007.
“I felt like something was pulling at my heart. I guess it’s like falling in love. I saw something in the sisters that resonated with me. I felt I would have a more fulfilled life if I gave up my current life. “I was dating a wonderful guy at the time but I felt my heart was being pulled towards a religious life and eventually the relationship came to an end.”
In preparation for the move to France, Megan is getting rid of her belongings. Her family and friends support herdecision. Megan knows it will be hard for everyone but she has reassured them they are welcome to come and visit. “I won’t be cut off,” she explains.
“I know if this is what God wanted, then it’s for the best. I want to follow the path that he has set out for me.”
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