Footballers or nuns

Read the text and comment on how important is football in the world even in a convent.

At the Benedictine convent in Tyburn, London, the nuns spend six hours a day praying or singing, and three and a half hours a day working. But now, it’s five o’clock on Monday afternoon and the sisters are enjoying their hour of recreation, playing football. The nuns have a very spiritual existence, but health and exercise are also important.

Football was introduced to the convent because a lot of nuns had suffered injuries playing tennis. The football games, however, have also caused injuries. Recently, when one of the nuns went to the doctor, he was very surprised that she had injured her foot playing football.

There are a lot of football fans at the convent. I spoke to Mother Michael Mary, who used to support Kilmarnock FC. She had never missed a match, home or away, before she became a nun 20 years ago. However, she now supports Celtic because they are more famous than Kilmarnock. Mother Mary said Saint Benedict would be very happy. He said that his followers should ‘run while they have the light of life’.

There have also been some important fans outside the convent. Cardinal Hume was once head of the Roman Catholic church in Britain. He was a Newcastle fan, and he once said that his ideal person was a good Catholic and a good footballer who could also play cricket. So now you know: sport is good for your body and your soul!