Longest-serving nun dies at 105
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
Sister Teresita Barajuen, the nun believed to hold the record for the longest period served in a monastery – 86 years – has died at the age of 105, the Associated Press reported.
The cloistered nun spent the majority of her life in the Buenafuente del Sistal monastery, located northeast of Madrid, Spain, where she entered at the age of 19. She was a member of the Cistercian order.
A homily from the funeral service held June 13, the day after her passing, was published on the monastery’s website.
The message recounted the lifetime of service she dedicated to the order and the faith.
“She witnessed difficult times, especially during the civil confrontation, during which time she remained in the monastery,” the homily read, later continuing, “Sister Teresita…defended the external interventionism, and supported the autonomy of the monastery.”
The homily also touched upon some of the highlights of the nun’s time in the monastery.
“She put her hands in the most humble work, and greeted the authorities of this world,” it read, noting in particular her meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in August 2011.
The account of her life depicted her as a woman “of few words, but full of closeness and tenderness.”
The homily continued, “all are privileged to have been witness to a life anointed with God’s faithfulness, human wholeness and the proximity to the present moment.”
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Sister Teresita Barajuen, the nun believed to hold the record for the longest period served in a monastery – 86 years – has died at the age of 105, the Associated Press reported.
The cloistered nun spent the majority of her life in the Buenafuente del Sistal monastery, located northeast of Madrid, Spain, where she entered at the age of 19. She was a member of the Cistercian order.
A homily from the funeral service held June 13, the day after her passing, was published on the monastery’s website.
The message recounted the lifetime of service she dedicated to the order and the faith.
“She witnessed difficult times, especially during the civil confrontation, during which time she remained in the monastery,” the homily read, later continuing, “Sister Teresita…defended the external interventionism, and supported the autonomy of the monastery.”
The homily also touched upon some of the highlights of the nun’s time in the monastery.
“She put her hands in the most humble work, and greeted the authorities of this world,” it read, noting in particular her meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in August 2011.
The account of her life depicted her as a woman “of few words, but full of closeness and tenderness.”
The homily continued, “all are privileged to have been witness to a life anointed with God’s faithfulness, human wholeness and the proximity to the present moment.”
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