While we won’t be getting The Real Housecardinals of the Vatican City on Bravo anytime soon—though Andy Cohen is something of a divine power in and of himself—there’s plenty more Catholic ephemera to enjoy. I’m both Irish and Italian, so alongside my Catholic guilt, internalized shame, and penchant for grandiosity comes a cultural diet that would satiate anyone who found themselves enraptured by the conclave. Through reporting on several stories about nuns and people of faith, however, I’ve also gathered a few monastic-approved recommendations.
One young nun from Wexford, Ireland—who, when I met her, had just turned 32 and was about to receive her first solemn vows—told me about the documentary that first inspired her to explore convent life. She had seen it with a friend who was recently dumped, and wanted to watch something “that absolutely involved no men or romance.” She also spoke to me about her love for Patrick Kavanagh’s poetry.
Be not afraid—below is a list of what to watch, see, and listen to if you’re not ready to close the doors on papal fever just yet.
Don’t Forget We’re Here Forever: A New Generation’s Search for Religion by Lamorna Ash
From a silent Jesuit retreat along the Welsh coastline to Evangelical youth festivals, Lamorna Ash explores why young people are turning more and more to Christianity. Is it our age of disconnection and uncertainty? A desire to return to traditional values, or seek something altogether new? Ash, who grew up with a Church of England primary school education and a scant knowledge of hymns, embarks on a journey first spurred on by two friends—comedians—who both surprisingly pursued clerical life. The book beautifully unspools a bigger picture of faith and the need to nourish the soul.
Mysticism by Simon Critchley
“There is an awful lot of mysticism about. More than ever in recent years,” writes philosopher Simon Critchley in his centuries and continents-spanning book. It’s a fascinating excavation of humanity’s age-old—yet still very modern—quest to understand the divine, from a writer who has engaged with subjects as broad as football, suicide, humor, and David Bowie, all with equal fervor. Critchley is stylishly skeptical, but still retains playfulness and intrigue.