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Unconventional Women: The story of the last Blessed Sacrament Sisters in Australia
The lives of the women who joined a closed convent in Melbourne in a time of great upheaval.
In the 1950s and 60s, six young women left their families to join a strictly enclosed order of nuns in Melbourne. They could leave the convent only for medical appointments and rarely received visitors, who they would meet from behind a partition built into the parlour. Their lives were confined by the convent walls, the rhythms of the Divine Office and the dictates of the Mother Superior.
By the late 1960s, this community of women was upended by the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, and by the changing times. Their convent threw open its doors on a new world and the women wanted to be part of it.
The personal accounts of the six nuns and ex-nuns in Unconventional Women are unusually candid, giving a rare insight into the world of the convent, and exploring their changing relationship with both God and the world.
In the 1950s and 60s, six young women left their families to join a strictly enclosed order of nuns in Melbourne. They could leave the convent only for medical appointments and rarely received visitors, who they would meet from behind a partition built into the parlour. Their lives were confined by the convent walls, the rhythms of the Divine Office and the dictates of the Mother Superior.
By the late 1960s, this community of women was upended by the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, and by the changing times. Their convent threw open its doors on a new world and the women wanted to be part of it.
The personal accounts of the six nuns and ex-nuns in Unconventional Women are unusually candid, giving a rare insight into the world of the convent, and exploring their changing relationship with both God and the world.
- GenresNonfiction
304 pages, Paperback
Published July 2, 2024
9 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Gilbert
18 books25 followersSarah Gilbert is a writer, producer and oral historian from Sydney. She began her career as a copy girl at News Ltd before moving to New York where she worked as a feature writer at the New York Post. She returned home to work as a reporter in current affairs television, but soon moved Argentina where she wrote for Lonely Planet and Time Out.
Sarah’s writing has been published in the Sydney Review of Books, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Wall Street Journal and Marie Claire. She works as a writer/producer across documentary film, television and podcasting, with a particular focus on Australian history, and she is the books columnist at Galah magazine. Sarah lives in Darlinghurst with her husband and their two children.
Sarah’s writing has been published in the Sydney Review of Books, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Wall Street Journal and Marie Claire. She works as a writer/producer across documentary film, television and podcasting, with a particular focus on Australian history, and she is the books columnist at Galah magazine. Sarah lives in Darlinghurst with her husband and their two children.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 23, 2024
I really loved this book. I reminisced about my years growing up And being educated in the Catholic system - I was taught my Mercy nuns, some wonderful and others who could be quite cruel.
Reading this book offered an insight to the struggles many nuns may and did face in the aftermath of Vatican 2. We witnessed the struggle even if we may not have recognised it at the time. My friends and I have discussed this before. The nuns in this book were something else - strong, independent, liberated and courageous stepping outside both figuratively and spiritually and challenging the patriarchal order of the church in many cases. They were actively engaged in the world and their community but even though at times they struggled, the basis for their lives continued to be the Eucharist. Their spirituality is inspiring and to me showed that being a good and kind person is all we are being asked to be.
Reading this book offered an insight to the struggles many nuns may and did face in the aftermath of Vatican 2. We witnessed the struggle even if we may not have recognised it at the time. My friends and I have discussed this before. The nuns in this book were something else - strong, independent, liberated and courageous stepping outside both figuratively and spiritually and challenging the patriarchal order of the church in many cases. They were actively engaged in the world and their community but even though at times they struggled, the basis for their lives continued to be the Eucharist. Their spirituality is inspiring and to me showed that being a good and kind person is all we are being asked to be.
January 18, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. It was really refreshing!
August 25, 2024
Even if you're not a Catholic (I'm not) you'll find the story of these amazing women heartwarming and interesting.
August 4, 2025
The story of the last Blessed Sacrament Sisters in Australia
Growing up in Launceston Tasmania in the 1960s and early 1970s I have only vague memories of some nuns (the Presentation Sisters, officially the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, associated with the Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School). We were not a Catholic family, and as churchgoers at the low Anglican end of the Church of England spectrum, Catholics were viewed with suspicion. I mention this only because much of my knowledge of Catholicism is derived from history studies and not from direct lived experience. But I did observe the changes starting to percolate through the Catholic church by the time I reached adulthood.
From the cover of this book:
‘In the 1950s and 60s, six young women left their families to join a strictly enclosed order of nuns in Melbourne. They could leave the convent only for medical appointments and rarely received visitors, who they would meet from behind a partition built into the parlour. Their lives were confined by the convent walls, the rhythms of the Divine Office and the dictates of the Mother Superior.
By the late 1960s, this community of women was upended by the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, and by the changing times. Their convent threw open its doors on a new world and the women wanted to be part of it.
The personal accounts of the six nuns and ex-nuns in Unconventional Women are unusually candid, giving a rare insight into the world of the convent, and exploring their changing relationship with both God and the world.’
To write this book, Ms Gilbert recorded oral histories of these women. These oral histories have enabled her to provide the background of each woman and the context for her choice to join an enclosed order of nuns. Each story is unique.
We are taken through each woman’s life: from when she joined the convent in the 1950s into the first decades of the current century when the order was disbanded. Of particular interest to me was the impact of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the late 1960s. As Ms Gilbert writes:
‘For many members of the community, the idea that they might soon be able to cast off their heavy restrictive robes and reconnect with the outside world was a thrilling prospect. The changes promised greater personal freedom, and the possibility of reuniting with family and old friends. Even more importantly, it meant spiritual growth: further study and an open engagement with others who sought a larger understanding of their shared vocation as religious women. But not everyone felt that way. For some, the idea of having to find their way in a society that they had left years, almost decades ago, and the vanishing of a way of life to which they had dedicated their souls and their youth, was daunting. Instead of freedom, it felt like a painful peeling away of protection and security, of the parts of themselves they had felt were the most permanent and unassailable.’
I can only imagine how distressing this must have been for some of the women.
Two other aspects of this book will stay with. Firstly, the inspirational account of the contemplative order established in Redfern in the late 1970s, of the work done with Father Ted Kennedy and Mum Shirl, working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Secondly, the ageing of individual sisters and the life choices they made.
Fascinating.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Growing up in Launceston Tasmania in the 1960s and early 1970s I have only vague memories of some nuns (the Presentation Sisters, officially the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, associated with the Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School). We were not a Catholic family, and as churchgoers at the low Anglican end of the Church of England spectrum, Catholics were viewed with suspicion. I mention this only because much of my knowledge of Catholicism is derived from history studies and not from direct lived experience. But I did observe the changes starting to percolate through the Catholic church by the time I reached adulthood.
From the cover of this book:
‘In the 1950s and 60s, six young women left their families to join a strictly enclosed order of nuns in Melbourne. They could leave the convent only for medical appointments and rarely received visitors, who they would meet from behind a partition built into the parlour. Their lives were confined by the convent walls, the rhythms of the Divine Office and the dictates of the Mother Superior.
By the late 1960s, this community of women was upended by the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, and by the changing times. Their convent threw open its doors on a new world and the women wanted to be part of it.
The personal accounts of the six nuns and ex-nuns in Unconventional Women are unusually candid, giving a rare insight into the world of the convent, and exploring their changing relationship with both God and the world.’
To write this book, Ms Gilbert recorded oral histories of these women. These oral histories have enabled her to provide the background of each woman and the context for her choice to join an enclosed order of nuns. Each story is unique.
We are taken through each woman’s life: from when she joined the convent in the 1950s into the first decades of the current century when the order was disbanded. Of particular interest to me was the impact of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the late 1960s. As Ms Gilbert writes:
‘For many members of the community, the idea that they might soon be able to cast off their heavy restrictive robes and reconnect with the outside world was a thrilling prospect. The changes promised greater personal freedom, and the possibility of reuniting with family and old friends. Even more importantly, it meant spiritual growth: further study and an open engagement with others who sought a larger understanding of their shared vocation as religious women. But not everyone felt that way. For some, the idea of having to find their way in a society that they had left years, almost decades ago, and the vanishing of a way of life to which they had dedicated their souls and their youth, was daunting. Instead of freedom, it felt like a painful peeling away of protection and security, of the parts of themselves they had felt were the most permanent and unassailable.’
I can only imagine how distressing this must have been for some of the women.
Two other aspects of this book will stay with. Firstly, the inspirational account of the contemplative order established in Redfern in the late 1970s, of the work done with Father Ted Kennedy and Mum Shirl, working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Secondly, the ageing of individual sisters and the life choices they made.
Fascinating.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
February 16, 2025
This book is a poignant and thought-provoking account of the final members of the Blessed Sacrament Sisters in Australia. It offers a fascinating insight into their lives, devotion, and the challenges they faced as religious life changed over time.
I found it particularly sad to read about the pre-Vatican II era, where the strictness and structure of religious life often seemed to lack warmth and genuine human connection. It left me questioning how healthy such an existence really was. Equally moving was the realisation that those who remained in the order spent their final years knowing they would be the last of their community—a profound and lonely fate.
Yet, despite this sadness, I was left with immense respect for these women. They demonstrated great courage and an openness to move with the Spirit as times changed. Their resilience and faith, even in the face of their community’s decline, were inspiring.
While the book didn’t entirely captivate me, it provided valuable historical insight and deepened my appreciation for these unconventional women and their quiet, yet significant, strength.
Thanks to the ACT Library Service for lending me a copy of this book.
I found it particularly sad to read about the pre-Vatican II era, where the strictness and structure of religious life often seemed to lack warmth and genuine human connection. It left me questioning how healthy such an existence really was. Equally moving was the realisation that those who remained in the order spent their final years knowing they would be the last of their community—a profound and lonely fate.
Yet, despite this sadness, I was left with immense respect for these women. They demonstrated great courage and an openness to move with the Spirit as times changed. Their resilience and faith, even in the face of their community’s decline, were inspiring.
While the book didn’t entirely captivate me, it provided valuable historical insight and deepened my appreciation for these unconventional women and their quiet, yet significant, strength.
Thanks to the ACT Library Service for lending me a copy of this book.
January 3, 2025
I found this book compiled by Sarah Gilbert and the BSN a wonderful recount of part of our Catholic history in Australia.
It bought back so many memories from my youth, let touched so beautifully on the faith that l now have.
This book has helped me stop feeling guilty, instead it has lit a spark in me that l constantly struggle me ..... l am the Church, l haven't left the Church .... the Church has left me.
This book cements my strong belief of how the Church has always been full of highly educated, innovative, thoughtful and spiritual women !! ( who deserve a place at the table!)
We are way more than just sacristans!
Thanks Sarah
It bought back so many memories from my youth, let touched so beautifully on the faith that l now have.
This book has helped me stop feeling guilty, instead it has lit a spark in me that l constantly struggle me ..... l am the Church, l haven't left the Church .... the Church has left me.
This book cements my strong belief of how the Church has always been full of highly educated, innovative, thoughtful and spiritual women !! ( who deserve a place at the table!)
We are way more than just sacristans!
Thanks Sarah
May 31, 2025
I loved this. Much of the story is in the words of the women themselves. It tells the story of the developing spiritual and personal lives of a group of women who entered an enclosed convent before Vatican 2, and how that changed their lives.
August 10, 2024
This book is a fascinating story of women entering the convent which is enclosed and their journey out.
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October 15, 2024The following book reviews have been shared by Melbourne University Publishing – publisher of Unconventional Women
"In a combination of oral history and historical commentary, Gilbert traces what drew these women to this life, its effects on them – both good and bad – and the paths they chose upon leaving. Some stories, such as Marie’s – an unmarried mother who felt her life come back to her through faith – are deeply moving. All their memories and observations, highly nuanced, provide intriguing reading."
The Age
"This is an unconventional love story, told with warmth and wisdom. It draws close to a small group of women who, in the 1950s and 60s, followed a call to join the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament...Sarah Gilbert worked hard to gain their trust and tells their story with a rare kind of intimacy. The result is a book that has much for the entire Catholic community to ponder. At its heart is a deepening understanding of the Eucharist.”
Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne
"An impressively researched and empathetically put together biography of a group of Melbourne-based nuns...It is a brilliant work of non-fiction – unique in its theme, angle and characters...If you are interested in spirituality, history or just love a good true story, then this book is for you."
The AU Review
"In a combination of oral history and historical commentary, Gilbert traces what drew these women to this life, its effects on them – both good and bad – and the paths they chose upon leaving. Some stories, such as Marie’s – an unmarried mother who felt her life come back to her through faith – are deeply moving. All their memories and observations, highly nuanced, provide intriguing reading."
The Age
"This is an unconventional love story, told with warmth and wisdom. It draws close to a small group of women who, in the 1950s and 60s, followed a call to join the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament...Sarah Gilbert worked hard to gain their trust and tells their story with a rare kind of intimacy. The result is a book that has much for the entire Catholic community to ponder. At its heart is a deepening understanding of the Eucharist.”
Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne
"An impressively researched and empathetically put together biography of a group of Melbourne-based nuns...It is a brilliant work of non-fiction – unique in its theme, angle and characters...If you are interested in spirituality, history or just love a good true story, then this book is for you."
The AU Review
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews