{"id":471079,"date":"2025-12-25T16:28:24","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T16:28:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/471079\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T16:28:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T16:28:24","slug":"divine-messengers-italian-nuns-social-media-posts-go-viral-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/471079\/","title":{"rendered":"Divine messengers: Italian nuns\u2019 social media posts go viral | Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"

For years, the mostly closed-off lives of the nuns living in a retirement home in Raiano, a mountain village in Italy\u2019s Abruzzo region, followed much the same daily rhythm.<\/p>\n

They woke early, prayed, went to the chapel, had lunch, and perhaps whiled away the afternoon reading.<\/p>\n

But their routine switched pace when, under pressure from the eldest of the 22 women \u2013 Sister Maria Chiara, 98 \u2013 to liven things up, they broke out into social media.<\/p>\n

\"ItalianItalian nuns take to social media with witty viral videos<\/p>\n

\u201cSister Maria Chiara was starting to feel very low \u2013 she would say: \u2018We don\u2019t do anything here, and my life feels pointless,\u2019\u201d said Sister Nayiby Jimenez, who works in the home managed by the Ravasco congregation of Catholic nuns. \u201cI felt sorry for them too. These are women who worked hard all their lives and have all this goodness and light in their hearts \u2013 we couldn\u2019t just keep them closed off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being the youngest of the nuns, the onus fell on Sister Nayiby, 45, to shine their light beyond the confines of the home.<\/p>\n

The clips of the nuns have generated thousands of messages online. Photograph: Roberto Salomone\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

So with the blessing of their mother superior, the women began experimenting with producing videos that recounted their daily lives while offering spiritual guidance.<\/p>\n

They started simply: the first video<\/a>, posted on Sister Nayiby\u2019s Facebook account<\/a> in July, featured Sister Maria Grazia, 97, imparting a pearl of wisdom about obedience and trust. The clip was an instant hit, generating thousands of views and attracting 7,000 followers to the account \u2013 more than double the population of Raiano.<\/p>\n

Sister Nayiby Jimenez, left, with the star of the show: Sister Maria Chiara, 98. Photograph: Roberto Salomone\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

On a roll, the nuns branched out into Instagram, injecting their scripts with humour and music in their savvy quest to target a young audience. Views climbed to the millions and followers now number about 145,000 across their Facebook, Instagram<\/a> and Threads<\/a> accounts.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of this has been totally unexpected,\u201d said Nayiby, who was born in Colombia.<\/p>\n

In one of the most popular videos<\/a>, the nuns take it in turns to throw a cardboard box out of the window. Each box is labelled with a negative emotion or trait, for example \u201cstress\u201d, \u201canxiety\u201d, \u201cselfishness\u201d or \u201cindifference\u201d. The clip ends with Sister Maria Chiara saying: \u201cWe need to throw out everything that makes us sad, because the Lord wants us to be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The devotees live in a retirement home managed by the Ravasco congregation of Catholic nuns. Photograph: Roberto Salomone\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

In another, some of the nuns reluctantly take part in a morning exercise routine<\/a>, before giving up, saying \u201cwe\u2019re off to pray\u201d. The overriding message is that care needs to be taken of the body and soul in order for us to \u201cfully bloom\u201d.<\/p>\n

The clips have generated thousands of messages, and the nuns each have a book listing the names of those who have asked for their prayers. \u201cThere are over 200 names in each book, and they respond personally to all,\u201d said Sister Nayiby.<\/p>\n

The first video gained the nuns more followers online than the number of people in their village. Photograph: Roberto Salomone\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Needless to say, the main star of the show is Sister Maria Chiara, hence she is tasked with opening and closing the reels. \u201cI\u2019ve always been a chatterbox,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I\u2019m spontaneous, I can never plan anything beforehand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sister Anna Lilia, 95, is another spirited participant, although they have not yet risked putting her on a live video: \u201cShe has no filter, she just says what she thinks,\u201d said Sister Nayiby.<\/p>\n

\"ItalianItalian nuns\u2019 social media posts go viral<\/p>\n

The nuns come together to script each clip, with each production posted at 5am because \u201cthe first thing people do when they wake up in the morning is check their phones\u201d, said Sister Nayiby. However, she confessed to occasionally asking ChatGPT for help with developing ideas.<\/p>\n

The care home was opened by Sister Maria Grazia Mancini, who was there from Rome during the Guardian\u2019s recent visit. \u201cThese women gave so much during their apostolic life and then they reach a point where they feel a little discarded,\u201d she said. \u201cBut this initiative has given them the chance to express something beautiful, to have fun and to spread positive messages so that we can resist the evil that sometimes surrounds us.\u201d<\/p>\n