Cloistered Religious and Illness

[JMJ_coder]

Here is one of those ‘I wonder if’ questions I’ve had for a while. Those religious who are cloistered (or even eremitic), are they free from illnesses such as colds, flus, intestinal diseases, etc.?

 

[Hidden_One]

Not entirely.

 

[CarmeliteGirl25]

No, they are still human, and still very much susceptible to human illnesses. Off the top of my head:

St. Teresa of the Andes died from typhus and septicemia.

St. Therese of Lisieux died from tuberculosis.

St. Clare of Assisi died from complications from anorexia nervosa.

Cloistered religious don’t have superhuman powers or an increase of their immunity. Many of them die from illnesses.

Hope this helps.

 

[JMJ_coder]

^^No, I know fully well that they are human and subject to getting illness – but, what I meant is that due to their physical disconnect from the world, is that enough insulation to keep out the communicable illnesses?

 

[Hidden_One]

Again, not entirely… entering postulants, people visiting and/or giving gifts, the extern…

I imagine that they get sick less often, though.

 

[Lilllabettt]

Whether it is more difficult for cloistered nuns to contract infections, I can’t say. But when there is an infection, it typically spreads among the Sisters like wildfire.

 

[the_phoenix]

The thing that gets me is how so many Orders want to accept young women in good health as a condition for having a vocation to religious life these days. It seems to me that when I’ve read stories of lives of the saints, many of them join an Order, get sick (illnesses can be genetic/chronic as well as contagious diseases … in rare cases “victim soul” illnesses maybe even including stigmata), and die young?

Off on a tangent a bit:
Then too, two of the Fatima children died while still children, of the not-very-glamorous flu. Important thing is, Mary promised they would go to heaven very soon.

Thanks for your patience with my ramblings!

~~ the phoenix

 

[Beachcomber]

Whether it is more difficult for cloistered nuns to contract infections, I can’t say. But when there is an infection, it typically spreads among the Sisters like wildfire.

That’s for sure. A friend of mine, who is a cloistered nun, told me that when one sister got a cold, EVERYBODY got a cold. Kind of like a large family when one kid gets sick, they all get sick like a row of falling dominos.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

The thing that gets me is how so many Orders want to accept young women in good health as a condition for having a vocation to religious life these days. It seems to me that when I’ve read stories of lives of the saints, many of them join an Order, get sick (illnesses can be genetic/chronic as well as contagious diseases … in rare cases “victim soul” illnesses maybe even including stigmata), and die young?

Off on a tangent a bit:
Then too, two of the Fatima children died while still children, of the not-very-glamorous flu. Important thing is, Mary promised they would go to heaven very soon.

Thanks for your patience with my ramblings!

~~ the phoenix

Most orders have always had rules about age and health when accepting postulants. Especially in the past when the sisters had to do more manual work than a girl of a wealthy family may have been used to. But as you say, we do know of several saints who did contract a disease somehow after joining and died young. The vast majority of the sisters though probably lived to a good age. We just don’t hear to much about them.

 

[Fran65]

St. Clare of Assisi died from complications from anorexia nervosa.

I have never heard this before. Could you tell me where you got the information, as this area is a professional interest of mine?

Thank you & God bless

 

[dakotagirl]

No, they are still human, and still very much susceptible to human illnesses. Off the top of my head:

St. Teresa of the Andes died from typhus and septicemia.

St. Therese of Lisieux died from tuberculosis.

St. Clare of Assisi died from complications from anorexia nervosa.

Cloistered religious don’t have superhuman powers or an increase of their immunity. Many of them die from illnesses.

Hope this helps.

Are you quite sure about St. Clare? AN is a relatively modern thing, it was called “anorexia mirabilis” back then, and that’s just a fancy name for excessive fasting, which a lot of the saints apparently wore themselves out with.

 

[Shoshana]

Are you quite sure about St. Clare? AN is a relatively modern thing, it was called “anorexia mirabilis” back then, and that’s just a fancy name for excessive fasting, which a lot of the saints apparently wore themselves out with.

This is true! I read a saint’s life where she said she would have taken care of herself better…because the excessive fasting and penanaces weakened her to the point of death…and died from it. I can’t remember the name…

 

[Fran65]

It’s discussed in a book written by Rudolph Bell called Holy Anorexia. However, retrospective diagnoses are notoriously unreliable and may not be valid as they based on very little evidence.