New Voices from Wales

A short documentary portrait of the last three nuns at a north Wales convent. The Sisters of the Bon Sauveur ran a convent school in Holyhead for 87 years before the decline in numbers of young women taking vows led to its sudden closure in 1983. At its height, the convent school included 150 pupils and 18 sisters, and at its head was Sister Miranda Richards. Headmistress at the age of 25 and an ex-pupil of the school, Sister Richards lead for eight years.

Including BBC Wales archive footage from an interview with Sister Richards in 1977, she recounts the formation of the order, its move to Wales, its golden years as a convent school and the school's eventual closure and collapse into decay and demolition. She discusses why young women chose the life of a sister and the shift in society away from convent life.

Today, similarly to the recruitment crisis the sisters experienced in the 1980s, the Catholic church is facing difficulties in recruiting priests to fill parish positions. With testimony from those who have worked alongside the sisters, we hear how they have adapted their mission to continue serving their faith community and the people of Holyhead by taking up roles traditionally occupied by priests.