Nuns are a staple on the Hollywood screen – even as they disappear from real life. What’s behind our timeless obsession

Nuns are a staple on the Hollywood screen – even as they disappear from real life. What’s behind our timeless obsession

Nuns are a staple of pop culture. Think of The Sound of Music (1965), Sister Act (1992), The Nun’s Story (1959), The Bells of St Mary’s (1945), Heaven Knows Mr. Allison (1957) and Black Narcissus (1947).

Last year brought us The Nun II (following 2018’s The Nun), The New Boy, Deliver Us and Sister Death. This year, we’ve had Immaculate and The First Omen. Most of this current crop are horror films or dark dramas – a long way from the wholesomeness of the postulant (or trainee-nun) Maria in the Sound of Music, the upbeat singing of Sister Act, or the knockabout comedy of Nuns on the Run (1990).

But away from the silver screen, we are seeing the disappearance of nuns.